Universal Health Services, Inc. $UHS Shares Bought by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. by 117.5% during Q1, owning 28,352 shares valued at approximately $5.3 million at the end of the quarter.
• Universal Health Services recently announced a $0.20 quarterly dividend, equating to an annualized yield of 0.4%, with the payment date set for September 16th.
• The company's latest financial results showed an earnings per share (EPS) of $5.35, exceeding analysts' estimates, and revenue grew by 9.6% year-over-year.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) by 117.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,352 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,318 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $5,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UHS. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Universal Health Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,155,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 590,389 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $105,928,000 after acquiring an additional 219,942 shares in the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP raised its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 1,151.1% in the 4th quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 152,454 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $27,353,000 after purchasing an additional 140,268 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 16,935.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 138,670 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $26,056,000 after purchasing an additional 137,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,555,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on UHS. Bank of America cut shares of Universal Health Services from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Universal Health Services from $257.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Universal Health Services from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Universal Health Services from $201.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group set a $227.00 price objective on Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $214.15.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Shares of UHS opened at $184.7670 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average is $173.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.70. The company has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.24. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.33 and a fifty-two week high of $243.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The health services provider reported $5.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 7.66%.The company's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.31 earnings per share. Universal Health Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.000-21.000 EPS. Research analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Universal Health Services's payout ratio is currently 4.21%.

About Universal Health Services

Universal Health Services, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, and outpatient and behavioral health care facilities. It operates through Acute Care Hospital Services and Behavioral Health Care Services segments. The company's hospitals offer general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic and coronary care, pediatric services, pharmacy services, and/or behavioral health services.

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