Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Sets New 52-Week High at $191.28

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $191.28 and last traded at $191.22, with a volume of 7684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UHS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Universal Health Services from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $190.43.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $175.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.33.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.56. The firm 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 13.34% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.76 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is 6.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UHS. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 9.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,004 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Pathstone Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services in the third quarter worth about $295,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 51.2% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 62,949 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $7,915,000 after buying an additional 21,325 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 8.5% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 169,389 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $21,297,000 after purchasing an additional 13,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 5.0% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,757 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Company Profile

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.