Stephens Reiterates “Equal Weight” Rating for Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS)

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by Stephens in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $185.00 price target on the health services provider’s stock. Stephens’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.41% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $140.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Universal Health Services from $208.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays initiated coverage on Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $181.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.60.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

NYSE:UHS opened at $166.06 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.24. Universal Health Services has a 12 month low of $119.90 and a 12 month high of $183.61. The business’s 50-day moving average is $170.63 and its 200 day moving average is $153.34.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 5.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Universal Health Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Health Services news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total transaction of $6,188,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at $12,162,563.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 16.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Health Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UHS. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 42.8% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Universal Health Services in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. 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.