Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Price Target Cut to $156.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) had its price target dropped by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $166.00 to $156.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the health services provider’s stock. Robert W. Baird‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 9.51% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Universal Health Services from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Universal Health Services from $242.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Universal Health Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Universal Health Services from $212.00 to $191.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.31.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

NYSE:UHS opened at $172.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $177.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.62. Universal Health Services has a 1-year low of $140.08 and a 1-year high of $246.32.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The health services provider reported $5.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.03. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 19.39%. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.69 EPS. Universal Health Services’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Universal Health Services will post 22.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 12.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 192,351 shares during the period. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in Universal Health Services in the first quarter worth about $32,551,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,554,670 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $677,234,000 after acquiring an additional 130,389 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,679,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 77.0% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 234,304 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $41,933,000 after purchasing an additional 101,910 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Health Services

Universal Health Services, Inc (NYSE: UHS) is a healthcare services company that owns and operates hospitals, outpatient facilities and other healthcare providers. Its operations are focused primarily on acute care and behavioral health services.

The company’s acute care operations include general and specialty hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, emergency departments, physician practices and other outpatient services. Its behavioral health business provides inpatient and outpatient treatment for mental health conditions, substance-use disorders and related needs.

Universal Health Services serves patients across the United States and Puerto Rico, with additional behavioral health operations in the United Kingdom.