Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on UHS. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a neutral rating and a $198.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Universal Health Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $189.00 to $226.00 in a research note on Monday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $190.43.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of UHS stock opened at $187.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Universal Health Services has a twelve month low of $119.90 and a twelve month high of $190.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $173.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.19. The stock has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.29.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Universal Health Services will post 13.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UHS. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Universal Health Services by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 624 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in Universal Health Services by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 12,776 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,331,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,070 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 34.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 360 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.