Short Interest in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Expands By 34.9%

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,970,000 shares, a growth of 34.9% from the March 31st total of 1,460,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 596,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total value of $6,188,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,162,563.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Universal Health Services by 48.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,967,220 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $247,339,000 after purchasing an additional 638,166 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 32,501.2% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 570,847 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $87,020,000 after buying an additional 569,096 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Universal Health Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,117,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 12,924.9% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,935 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $76,820,000 after buying an additional 500,066 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,212,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Shares of UHS stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $166.06. The stock had a trading volume of 965,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 685,070. The company has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Universal Health Services has a 12-month low of $119.90 and a 12-month high of $183.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.68.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on UHS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com raised Universal Health Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Universal Health Services from $140.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $182.64.

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.