Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Raised to Outperform at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. Robert W. Baird currently has $236.00 price target on the health services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $198.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on UHS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $181.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $193.14.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 3.5 %

NYSE UHS opened at $184.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.38. Universal Health Services has a one year low of $119.90 and a one year high of $194.02. The firm has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.29.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services will post 13.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,099,282 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,295,335,000 after purchasing an additional 57,036 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,071,022 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $315,707,000 after purchasing an additional 103,802 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,707,708 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $214,710,000 after purchasing an additional 195,650 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,090,010 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $137,047,000 after purchasing an additional 37,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,542 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $112,278,000 after purchasing an additional 220,823 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.