Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.20

Key Points

• Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, payable on September 15 to shareholders of record as of September 1. The dividend implies an annualized yield of about 0.5%.
• The company’s dividend appears well covered, with a payout ratio of just 3.7%, and analysts expect it to remain covered by future earnings. UHS has also increased its dividend only modestly, averaging about 0.3% annually over the past three years.
• UHS recently reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates with $5.62 EPS on $4.50 billion in revenue, and revenue rose 9.6% year over year. Despite that, analyst sentiment is mixed, with an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $214.80.

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share by the health services provider on Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st.

Universal Health Services has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%annually over the last three years. Universal Health Services has a dividend payout ratio of 3.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Universal Health Services to earn $25.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 3.2%.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Universal Health Services stock opened at $148.38 on Thursday. Universal Health Services has a fifty-two week low of $140.08 and a fifty-two week high of $246.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $153.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.03.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The health services provider reported $5.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.41 by $0.21. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 19.57%. The company had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.84 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Universal Health Services will post 23.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered Universal Health Services from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $179.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Universal Health Services from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $216.00 to $190.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $261.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $214.80.

About Universal Health Services

Universal Health Services, Inc NYSE: UHS is one of the largest diversified health care management companies in the United States, offering a broad spectrum of services through its acute care hospital and behavioral health segments. The company operates general acute care hospitals, surgical hospitals and ambulatory centers, as well as inpatient and outpatient behavioral health facilities. Its network provides emergency and specialized medicine, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, advanced surgical care and rehabilitation, complemented by a comprehensive array of behavioral services including psychiatric treatment, addiction programs and developmental disabilities care.

In the acute care segment, UHS's facilities deliver services ranging from emergency department treatment and intensive care to maternity care and outpatient surgery.

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