Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Trading 3.4% Higher – What’s Next?

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)’s share price rose 3.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $184.58 and last traded at $185.3070. Approximately 59,419 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 861,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UHS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $183.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $212.00 to $191.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $230.00 to $197.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $198.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.94.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a PE ratio of 7.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.06.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The health services provider reported $5.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.58 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 19.39% and a net margin of 8.42%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 22.96 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is 3.26%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Health Services

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 51.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 54,975 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $11,988,000 after purchasing an additional 18,652 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 79.8% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 47,576 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $8,515,000 after buying an additional 21,122 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 119,561 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $26,136,000 after buying an additional 29,717 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 58.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,961 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,857,000 after buying an additional 5,870 shares during the period. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 840.2% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 10,643 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,583,000 after buying an additional 9,511 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Health Services Company Profile

Universal Health Services, Inc (NYSE: UHS) is a healthcare services company that owns and operates hospitals, outpatient facilities and other healthcare organizations. Its operations are primarily focused on acute care and behavioral health services, serving patients through a network of hospitals, treatment centers and ambulatory facilities.

The company’s acute care activities include general and specialty hospitals that provide services such as emergency care, surgery, inpatient treatment and diagnostic procedures.