Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Receives $182.79 Average Price Target from Analysts

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $183.20.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Universal Health Services from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $156.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Universal Health Services from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total value of $6,188,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,162,563.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 48.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,967,220 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $247,339,000 after purchasing an additional 638,166 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 32,501.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 570,847 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $87,020,000 after purchasing an additional 569,096 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter worth $86,117,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 12,924.9% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,935 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $76,820,000 after purchasing an additional 500,066 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter worth $49,212,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Universal Health Services stock opened at $169.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.26. Universal Health Services has a one year low of $119.90 and a one year high of $183.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.92.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 5.57%. Universal Health Services’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Health Services will post 13.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.