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Universal Health Services (UHS) Competitors

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$178.62 +2.86 (+1.63%)
As of 03:58 PM Eastern

UHS vs. ACHC, CYH, ELV, HCA, and HUM

Should you buy Universal Health Services stock or one of its competitors? Universal Health Services's main competitors and comparable companies include Acadia Healthcare (ACHC), Community Health Systems (CYH), Elevance Health (ELV), HCA Healthcare (HCA), and Humana (HUM). Companies are selected based on similarities in market, industry, and size. These companies are all part of the "healthcare providers & services" industry.

How does Universal Health Services compare to Acadia Healthcare?

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) and Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Universal Health Services has higher revenue and earnings than Acadia Healthcare. Acadia Healthcare is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Universal Health Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Universal Health Services$17.36B0.61$1.49B$24.557.28
Acadia Healthcare$3.31B0.86-$1.10B-$12.45N/A

Universal Health Services has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its share price is 5% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Acadia Healthcare has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the broader market.

Universal Health Services has a net margin of 8.42% compared to Acadia Healthcare's net margin of -33.44%. Universal Health Services' return on equity of 19.39% beat Acadia Healthcare's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Universal Health Services8.42% 19.39% 9.21%
Acadia Healthcare -33.44%6.19%2.42%

Universal Health Services currently has a consensus target price of $204.93, indicating a potential upside of 14.73%. Acadia Healthcare has a consensus target price of $29.85, indicating a potential downside of 2.40%. Given Universal Health Services' higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Universal Health Services is more favorable than Acadia Healthcare.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Universal Health Services
0 Sell rating(s)
12 Hold rating(s)
5 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.29
Acadia Healthcare
2 Sell rating(s)
5 Hold rating(s)
7 Buy rating(s)
1 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.47

In the previous week, Universal Health Services had 6 more articles in the media than Acadia Healthcare. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Universal Health Services and 9 mentions for Acadia Healthcare. Acadia Healthcare's average media sentiment score of 0.90 beat Universal Health Services' score of 0.24 indicating that Acadia Healthcare is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Universal Health Services
4 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
4 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
Acadia Healthcare
5 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

86.1% of Universal Health Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.1% of Universal Health Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Acadia Healthcare shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Universal Health Services beats Acadia Healthcare on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Universal Health Services compare to Community Health Systems?

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) and Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

86.1% of Universal Health Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.0% of Community Health Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 17.1% of Universal Health Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of Community Health Systems shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

In the previous week, Universal Health Services had 9 more articles in the media than Community Health Systems. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Universal Health Services and 6 mentions for Community Health Systems. Community Health Systems' average media sentiment score of 0.82 beat Universal Health Services' score of 0.24 indicating that Community Health Systems is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Universal Health Services
4 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
4 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
Community Health Systems
4 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Universal Health Services has higher revenue and earnings than Community Health Systems. Community Health Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Universal Health Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Universal Health Services$17.36B0.61$1.49B$24.557.28
Community Health Systems$12.49B0.03$509M$1.851.58

Universal Health Services presently has a consensus price target of $204.93, indicating a potential upside of 14.73%. Community Health Systems has a consensus price target of $2.95, indicating a potential upside of 0.68%. Given Universal Health Services' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Universal Health Services is more favorable than Community Health Systems.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Universal Health Services
0 Sell rating(s)
12 Hold rating(s)
5 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.29
Community Health Systems
3 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
1.71

Universal Health Services has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its share price is 5% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Community Health Systems has a beta of 1.84, suggesting that its share price is 84% more volatile than the broader market.

Universal Health Services has a net margin of 8.42% compared to Community Health Systems' net margin of 2.10%. Universal Health Services' return on equity of 19.39% beat Community Health Systems' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Universal Health Services8.42% 19.39% 9.21%
Community Health Systems 2.10%-6.66%0.62%

Summary

Universal Health Services beats Community Health Systems on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Universal Health Services compare to Elevance Health?

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) and Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) are both large-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, dividends, earnings, profitability, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Universal Health Services pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Elevance Health pays an annual dividend of $6.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Universal Health Services pays out 3.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Elevance Health pays out 30.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Elevance Health has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Elevance Health is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

86.1% of Universal Health Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.2% of Elevance Health shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.1% of Universal Health Services shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Elevance Health shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Universal Health Services has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its share price is 5% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Elevance Health has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its share price is 32% less volatile than the broader market.

In the previous week, Elevance Health had 39 more articles in the media than Universal Health Services. MarketBeat recorded 54 mentions for Elevance Health and 15 mentions for Universal Health Services. Elevance Health's average media sentiment score of 1.64 beat Universal Health Services' score of 0.24 indicating that Elevance Health is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Universal Health Services
4 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
4 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
Elevance Health
50 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
4 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Very Positive

Universal Health Services has a net margin of 8.42% compared to Elevance Health's net margin of 2.47%. Universal Health Services' return on equity of 19.39% beat Elevance Health's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Universal Health Services8.42% 19.39% 9.21%
Elevance Health 2.47%14.64%5.22%

Elevance Health has higher revenue and earnings than Universal Health Services. Universal Health Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Elevance Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Universal Health Services$17.36B0.61$1.49B$24.557.28
Elevance Health$199.13B0.44$5.66B$22.5017.89

Universal Health Services currently has a consensus target price of $204.93, indicating a potential upside of 14.73%. Elevance Health has a consensus target price of $440.90, indicating a potential upside of 9.51%. Given Universal Health Services' higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Universal Health Services is more favorable than Elevance Health.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Universal Health Services
0 Sell rating(s)
12 Hold rating(s)
5 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.29
Elevance Health
0 Sell rating(s)
8 Hold rating(s)
15 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.65

Summary

Elevance Health beats Universal Health Services on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Universal Health Services compare to HCA Healthcare?

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) and HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) are both large-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

HCA Healthcare has higher revenue and earnings than Universal Health Services. Universal Health Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HCA Healthcare, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Universal Health Services$17.36B0.61$1.49B$24.557.28
HCA Healthcare$75.60B1.22$6.78B$29.8714.27

Universal Health Services has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, HCA Healthcare has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the broader market.

Universal Health Services currently has a consensus price target of $204.93, suggesting a potential upside of 14.73%. HCA Healthcare has a consensus price target of $462.64, suggesting a potential upside of 8.51%. Given Universal Health Services' higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Universal Health Services is more favorable than HCA Healthcare.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Universal Health Services
0 Sell rating(s)
12 Hold rating(s)
5 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.29
HCA Healthcare
1 Sell rating(s)
8 Hold rating(s)
14 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.57

86.1% of Universal Health Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.7% of HCA Healthcare shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.1% of Universal Health Services shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of HCA Healthcare shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

In the previous week, HCA Healthcare had 35 more articles in the media than Universal Health Services. MarketBeat recorded 50 mentions for HCA Healthcare and 15 mentions for Universal Health Services. HCA Healthcare's average media sentiment score of 1.39 beat Universal Health Services' score of 0.24 indicating that HCA Healthcare is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Universal Health Services
4 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
4 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
HCA Healthcare
41 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
3 Neutral mention(s)
2 Negative mention(s)
1 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

HCA Healthcare has a net margin of 8.77% compared to Universal Health Services' net margin of 8.42%. Universal Health Services' return on equity of 19.39% beat HCA Healthcare's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Universal Health Services8.42% 19.39% 9.21%
HCA Healthcare 8.77%-244.79%11.10%

Universal Health Services pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. HCA Healthcare pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Universal Health Services pays out 3.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. HCA Healthcare pays out 10.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. HCA Healthcare has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. HCA Healthcare is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

HCA Healthcare beats Universal Health Services on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Universal Health Services compare to Humana?

Humana (NYSE:HUM) and Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) are both large-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, media sentiment, earnings and dividends.

Humana pays an annual dividend of $3.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Universal Health Services pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Humana pays out 33.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Universal Health Services pays out 3.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

92.4% of Humana shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.1% of Universal Health Services shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Humana shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.1% of Universal Health Services shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Universal Health Services has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Humana. Universal Health Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Humana, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Humana$129.66B0.36$1.19B$10.5736.90
Universal Health Services$17.36B0.61$1.49B$24.557.28

Humana currently has a consensus price target of $403.91, suggesting a potential upside of 3.55%. Universal Health Services has a consensus price target of $204.93, suggesting a potential upside of 14.73%. Given Universal Health Services' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Universal Health Services is more favorable than Humana.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Humana
1 Sell rating(s)
15 Hold rating(s)
14 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.43
Universal Health Services
0 Sell rating(s)
12 Hold rating(s)
5 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.29

In the previous week, Humana had 20 more articles in the media than Universal Health Services. MarketBeat recorded 35 mentions for Humana and 15 mentions for Universal Health Services. Humana's average media sentiment score of 1.29 beat Universal Health Services' score of 0.24 indicating that Humana is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Humana
28 Very Positive mention(s)
3 Positive mention(s)
3 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Universal Health Services
4 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
4 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral

Humana has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its share price is 28% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Universal Health Services has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its share price is 5% more volatile than the broader market.

Universal Health Services has a net margin of 8.42% compared to Humana's net margin of 0.88%. Universal Health Services' return on equity of 19.39% beat Humana's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Humana0.88% 11.20% 3.94%
Universal Health Services 8.42%19.39%9.21%

Summary

Universal Health Services beats Humana on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding UHS and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
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Media Sentiment Over Time

This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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UHS vs. The Competition

MetricUniversal Health ServicesHealthcare Providers & Services IndustryHealthcare SectorNYSE Exchange
Market Cap$10.36B$10.05B$7.30B$24.27B
Dividend Yield0.46%2.55%2.54%3.70%
P/E Ratio7.2835.18272.7630.21
Price / Sales0.615.05630.6919.92
Price / Cash5.31125.5878.5732.63
Price / Book1.394.1213.147.69
Net Income$1.49B$312.92M$3.47B$1.07B
7 Day Performance3.47%0.95%1.38%-0.21%
1 Month Performance14.53%2.29%8.62%2.84%
1 Year Performance-1.57%17.33%25.90%14.58%

Universal Health Services Competitors List

CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
UHS
Universal Health Services
4.298 of 5 stars
$178.62
+1.6%
$204.93
+14.7%
-4.5%$10.36B$17.36B7.28101,500
ACHC
Acadia Healthcare
1.3105 of 5 stars
$30.00
-2.7%
$29.85
-0.5%
+34.7%$2.87B$3.31BN/A25,000
CYH
Community Health Systems
1.7046 of 5 stars
$2.95
-1.7%
$2.95
+9.0%$423.03M$11.98B1.5957,000
ELV
Elevance Health
4.6473 of 5 stars
$390.69
-2.4%
$440.90
+12.9%
+26.8%$86.82B$199.13B17.3697,100
HCA
HCA Healthcare
3.9826 of 5 stars
$405.53
+0.2%
$465.59
+14.8%
+6.4%$87.61B$75.60B13.58320,000

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This page (NYSE:UHS) was last updated on 8/26/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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