Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

UHS has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Universal Health Services from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $198.00 to $236.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Baird R W raised Universal Health Services from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Universal Health Services from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Universal Health Services from $181.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $194.21.

Universal Health Services Stock Up 0.3 %

UHS opened at $184.43 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.43. Universal Health Services has a 52 week low of $119.90 and a 52 week high of $194.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.28.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Universal Health Services will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is 6.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 65,643 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $11,998,000 after purchasing an additional 14,326 shares in the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Universal Health Services by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 159,605 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $24,330,000 after acquiring an additional 24,279 shares during the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC bought a new position in Universal Health Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,010,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,240 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $11,317,000 after purchasing an additional 9,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 12,924.9% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,935 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $76,820,000 after purchasing an additional 500,066 shares during the last quarter. 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.