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Universal Health Services (UHS) Competitors

Universal Health Services logo
$171.68 -0.77 (-0.45%)
As of 02:00 PM Eastern
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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 superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

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

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$17.36B0.60$1.49B$24.556.99
Acadia Healthcare$3.31B0.87-$1.10B-$12.45N/A

86.1% of Universal Health Services shares are held by institutional investors. 17.1% of Universal Health Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Acadia Healthcare shares are held by 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 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 presently has a consensus price target of $204.93, suggesting a potential upside of 19.37%. Acadia Healthcare has a consensus price target of $29.85, suggesting a potential downside of 3.18%. Given Universal Health Services' higher possible upside, equities 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 3 more articles in the media than Acadia Healthcare. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for Universal Health Services and 16 mentions for Acadia Healthcare. Acadia Healthcare's average media sentiment score of 0.79 beat Universal Health Services' score of 0.13 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)
1 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
Acadia Healthcare
1 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

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 better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability, media sentiment, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Universal Health Services currently has a consensus target price of $204.93, suggesting a potential upside of 19.37%. Community Health Systems has a consensus target price of $2.95, suggesting a potential downside of 1.04%. Given Universal Health Services' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, 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 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%

In the previous week, Universal Health Services had 19 more articles in the media than Community Health Systems. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for Universal Health Services and 0 mentions for Community Health Systems. Universal Health Services' average media sentiment score of 0.13 beat Community Health Systems' score of -1.19 indicating that Universal Health Services is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Overall Sentiment
Universal Health Services Neutral
Community Health Systems Negative

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$17.36B0.60$1.49B$24.556.99
Community Health Systems$12.49B0.03$509M$1.851.61

86.1% of Universal Health Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.0% of Community Health Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.1% of Universal Health Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of Community Health Systems shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

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

Summary

Universal Health Services beats Community Health Systems on 15 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 better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and media sentiment.

In the previous week, Universal Health Services had 10 more articles in the media than Elevance Health. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for Universal Health Services and 9 mentions for Elevance Health. Elevance Health's average media sentiment score of 1.56 beat Universal Health Services' score of 0.13 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)
1 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
Elevance Health
8 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 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%

86.1% of Universal Health Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.2% of Elevance Health shares are held by institutional investors. 17.1% of Universal Health Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Elevance Health shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

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$17.36B0.60$1.49B$24.556.99
Elevance Health$199.13B0.44$5.66B$22.5017.77

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

Universal Health Services pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. 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 raised 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.

Universal Health Services presently has a consensus price target of $204.93, suggesting a potential upside of 19.37%. Elevance Health has a consensus price target of $440.90, suggesting a potential upside of 10.28%. Given Universal Health Services' higher possible upside, 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

Universal Health Services beats Elevance Health 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 better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, media sentiment, dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

In the previous week, HCA Healthcare had 10 more articles in the media than Universal Health Services. MarketBeat recorded 29 mentions for HCA Healthcare and 19 mentions for Universal Health Services. HCA Healthcare's average media sentiment score of 0.29 beat Universal Health Services' score of 0.13 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)
1 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
HCA Healthcare
9 Very Positive mention(s)
1 Positive mention(s)
6 Neutral mention(s)
2 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral

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

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$17.36B0.60$1.49B$24.556.99
HCA Healthcare$78.01B1.14$6.78B$29.8713.73

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 insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of HCA Healthcare shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Universal Health Services pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. HCA Healthcare pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. 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.

Universal Health Services currently has a consensus target price of $204.93, indicating a potential upside of 19.37%. HCA Healthcare has a consensus target price of $465.59, indicating a potential upside of 13.56%. Given Universal Health Services' higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly 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

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?

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

Universal Health Services has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
Universal Health Services$17.36B0.60$1.49B$24.556.99
Humana$129.66B0.36$1.19B$10.5736.35

In the previous week, Humana had 2 more articles in the media than Universal Health Services. MarketBeat recorded 21 mentions for Humana and 19 mentions for Universal Health Services. Humana's average media sentiment score of 0.79 beat Universal Health Services' score of 0.13 indicating that Humana 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)
1 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
Humana
7 Very Positive mention(s)
2 Positive mention(s)
8 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

Universal Health Services pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Humana pays an annual dividend of $3.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Universal Health Services pays out 3.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Humana pays out 33.5% 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.

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
Universal Health Services8.42% 19.39% 9.21%
Humana 0.88%11.20%3.94%

Universal Health Services presently has a consensus price target of $204.93, indicating a potential upside of 19.37%. Humana has a consensus price target of $395.22, indicating a potential upside of 2.86%. Given Universal Health Services' higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Universal Health Services is more favorable than Humana.

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
Humana
1 Sell rating(s)
15 Hold rating(s)
14 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.43

86.1% of Universal Health Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.4% of Humana shares are held by institutional investors. 17.1% of Universal Health Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Humana shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

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

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

Export
MetricUniversal Health ServicesHealthcare Providers & Services IndustryHealthcare SectorNYSE Exchange
Market Cap$10.38B$9.87B$7.05B$24.24B
Dividend Yield0.47%2.55%2.58%3.70%
P/E Ratio6.9825.15269.3730.30
Price / Sales0.604.84643.6517.80
Price / Cash5.10123.6070.5933.27
Price / Book1.375.3413.306.57
Net Income$1.49B$307.72M$3.45B$1.06B
7 Day Performance1.10%1.44%2.21%1.05%
1 Month Performance12.38%0.53%1.30%2.93%
1 Year Performance-3.77%18.90%68.14%17.25%

Universal Health Services Competitors List

Export
CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
UHS
Universal Health Services
4.6047 of 5 stars		$171.68
-0.4%		$204.93
+19.4%		-2.0%$10.38B$17.36B6.98101,500
ACHC
Acadia Healthcare
1.6546 of 5 stars		$30.59
+3.3%		$29.85
-2.4%		+55.9%$2.76B$3.31BN/A25,000
CYH
Community Health Systems
1.2656 of 5 stars		$2.92
+4.5%		$2.95
+1.2%		+13.9%$393.42M$12.49B1.5857,000
ELV
Elevance Health
4.9254 of 5 stars		$383.11
+1.9%		$440.90
+15.1%		+36.1%$81.51B$199.13B17.0397,100
HCA
HCA Healthcare
4.2869 of 5 stars		$406.08
+0.9%		$465.59
+14.7%		+6.3%$87.16B$75.60B13.59320,000

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This page (NYSE:UHS) was last updated on 8/13/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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