Cantor Fitzgerald Upgrades Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) to Neutral

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) was upgraded by investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm presently has a $219.00 price objective on the health services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $162.00. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price points to a potential upside of 6.83% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on UHS. UBS Group upgraded Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $189.00 to $226.00 in a research report on Monday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.50.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

NYSE:UHS opened at $204.99 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $184.87 and a 200 day moving average of $173.43. The company has a market capitalization of $13.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.28. Universal Health Services has a 1-year low of $119.90 and a 1-year high of $207.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The health services provider reported $4.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.94. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.12% and a net margin of 6.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Universal Health Services will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the health services provider to purchase up to 8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Universal Health Services in the second quarter worth $92,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 486,438 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $89,957,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 19.5% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 386 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.7% in the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 66,677 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $12,331,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 1.3% in the second quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 13,305 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,460,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.