Universal Health Services (UHS) to Release Earnings on Wednesday

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) is anticipated to post its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, February 26th. Analysts expect Universal Health Services to post earnings of $4.21 per share and revenue of $4.01 billion for the quarter. Individual interested in listening to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

UHS opened at $181.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $11.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $184.21 and a 200-day moving average of $205.83. Universal Health Services has a 52-week low of $152.68 and a 52-week high of $243.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.15, for a total value of $308,516.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,770.85. This represents a 21.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Universal Health Services from $222.00 to $211.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $226.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com cut Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Universal Health Services from $275.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has 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 $226.14.

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.