Cantor Fitzgerald Reaffirms Underweight Rating for Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS)

Cantor Fitzgerald reissued their underweight rating on shares of Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $162.00 price objective on the health services provider’s stock.

UHS has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $208.00 to $203.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group upgraded Universal Health Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $189.00 to $226.00 in a research note on Monday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Universal Health Services from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and increased their price objective for the company from $198.00 to $236.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Universal Health Services has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $193.57.

Universal Health Services Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE UHS opened at $180.89 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $181.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.36. The company has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.38. Universal Health Services has a one year low of $119.90 and a one year high of $194.02.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 5.57%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is currently 6.78%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Health Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UHS. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the third quarter worth $7,634,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,842 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 15.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,811 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 4,622.3% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 16,906 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,125,000 after acquiring an additional 16,548 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Universal Health Services by 9.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 192,069 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $24,149,000 after purchasing an additional 17,220 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.