Leuthold Group LLC Acquires Shares of 21,253 Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 21,253 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,878,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Universal Health Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,289,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Universal Health Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,318,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Universal Health Services by 41.2% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 455,773 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $83,160,000 after purchasing an additional 132,942 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Universal Health Services by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,006 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 65,643 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $11,998,000 after acquiring an additional 14,326 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of UHS traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $184.80. The stock had a trading volume of 179,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 611,065. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.22. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.90 and a 12-month high of $194.02.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.56. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 5.57%. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UHS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $189.00 to $226.00 in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Universal Health Services from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $162.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $194.21.

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.