Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $183.20.

UHS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Universal Health Services from $152.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $181.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “underweight” rating and set a $156.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of UHS stock opened at $169.47 on Friday. Universal Health Services has a 1-year low of $119.90 and a 1-year high of $183.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.92. The firm has a market cap of $11.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 13.34%. Universal Health Services’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Universal Health Services will post 13.51 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Health Services news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total transaction of $6,188,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,162,563.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UHS. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 48.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,967,220 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $247,339,000 after purchasing an additional 638,166 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 32,501.2% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 570,847 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $87,020,000 after acquiring an additional 569,096 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Universal Health Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,117,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 12,924.9% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,935 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $76,820,000 after acquiring an additional 500,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal Health Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,212,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Health Services Company Profile

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.