Brokerages Set Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Target Price at $218.63

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $216.5625.

UHS has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $241.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $235.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $235.00 to $205.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $268.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $233.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Universal Health Services by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,112,604 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $460,590,000 after buying an additional 505,575 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Universal Health Services by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,781,262 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $318,812,000 after buying an additional 192,351 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 1.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,226,577 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $219,520,000 after buying an additional 20,577 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services in the fourth quarter valued at $199,334,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 59.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 871,377 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $189,978,000 after buying an additional 325,162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of UHS stock opened at $145.45 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.77. Universal Health Services has a 52 week low of $140.08 and a 52 week high of $246.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.07.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The health services provider reported $5.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41 by $0.21. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 19.57%. The business had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services will post 23.47 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is presently 3.33%.

Universal Health Services Company Profile

Universal Health Services, Inc (NYSE: UHS) is one of the largest diversified health care management companies in the United States, offering a broad spectrum of services through its acute care hospital and behavioral health segments. The company operates general acute care hospitals, surgical hospitals and ambulatory centers, as well as inpatient and outpatient behavioral health facilities. Its network provides emergency and specialized medicine, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, advanced surgical care and rehabilitation, complemented by a comprehensive array of behavioral services including psychiatric treatment, addiction programs and developmental disabilities care.

In the acute care segment, UHS’s facilities deliver services ranging from emergency department treatment and intensive care to maternity care and outpatient surgery.