Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Universal Health Services, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from fourteen research firms, with one sell rating, nine hold ratings, and four buy ratings.
• The company's most recent earnings report showed a Q2 EPS of $5.35, exceeding the consensus estimate, along with a 9.6% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Universal Health Services recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20, translating to an annualized dividend of $0.80 and a dividend yield of 0.4%.

Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $217.0769.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UHS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $227.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $227.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of UHS stock opened at $196.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company's 50 day moving average price is $187.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.82. Universal Health Services has a 52 week low of $152.33 and a 52 week high of $240.26.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. 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 net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.31 EPS. Universal Health Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.000-21.000 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Universal Health Services will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Health Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 45,429 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $9,288,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 1,658.3% during the third quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 1,055 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Universal Health Services during the third quarter worth $961,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 24.8% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 126,793 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $25,922,000 after buying an additional 25,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in Universal Health Services during the third quarter worth $200,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.