Wall Street Zen Upgrades Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, reflecting increased confidence in the stock's potential.
• Various analysts have mixed views on UHS, with Barclays raising its target price to $259.00, while Bank of America downgraded it to an "underperform" rating with a price target of $185.00.
• Universal Health Services reported earnings of $5.35 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 9.6% increase in year-over-year revenue.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on UHS. Barclays raised their target price on Universal Health Services from $257.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Baird R W lowered shares of Universal Health Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens raised shares of Universal Health Services to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. UBS Group set a $227.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $218.92.

Universal Health Services Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of UHS opened at $162.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $176.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.87. Universal Health Services has a one year low of $152.33 and a one year high of $243.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.24.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The health services provider reported $5.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The business's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.31 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Universal Health Services will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.48, for a total value of $210,053.56. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,509,628.32. The trade was a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 16.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Universal Health Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Universal Health Services by 73.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,049 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $4,135,000 after buying an additional 9,747 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 143,839 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $25,808,000 after buying an additional 10,340 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 157.4% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 80,469 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $14,438,000 after buying an additional 49,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,713,572 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $306,776,000 after acquiring an additional 52,042 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

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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