Bayforest Capital Ltd Raises Stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. $UHS

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd significantly increased its stake in Universal Health Services, acquiring 4,152 additional shares, resulting in a total holding worth $808,000 by the end of the first quarter.
• Universal Health Services reported earnings of $5.35 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and indicating a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.6%.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, with a yield of 0.4%, payable on September 16th to investors of record on September 2nd.

Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) by 2,768.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,302 shares of the health services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,152 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,315,468 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $247,176,000 after buying an additional 74,128 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,241,738 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $233,311,000 after buying an additional 102,137 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 931,355 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $173,381,000 after buying an additional 340,966 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 634,592 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $119,240,000 after buying an additional 10,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 504,804 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $94,853,000 after buying an additional 16,900 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Health Services Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:UHS traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $191.80. 736,557 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 677,378. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.64. 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 current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Universal Health Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on UHS shares. Stephens upgraded shares of Universal Health Services to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $243.00 to $203.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $257.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $214.77.

Universal Health Services Profile

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.