Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) PT Raised to $275.00

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the health services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 18.54% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays upgraded Universal Health Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $198.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Universal Health Services in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Universal Health Services from $247.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Universal Health Services from $236.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $220.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.31.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Shares of UHS stock traded down $1.64 on Tuesday, hitting $231.98. 131,609 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 662,971. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Universal Health Services has a 12 month low of $119.90 and a 12 month high of $243.25. The stock has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $229.19 and a 200 day moving average of $199.34.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.94. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 6.22%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.53 EPS. Universal Health Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Universal Health Services will post 15.87 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the health services provider to purchase up to 8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Health Services news, EVP Matthew Jay Peterson sold 15,141 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.85, for a total value of $3,192,479.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,595.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Universal Health Services news, Director Nina Chen-Langenmayr sold 850 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.11, for a total value of $180,293.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $421,038.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Matthew Jay Peterson sold 15,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.85, for a total value of $3,192,479.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,595.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,970 shares of company stock worth $4,653,535. 16.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $897,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 95.9% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 19,511 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,560,000 after acquiring an additional 9,549 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 27.9% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 65,643 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $11,998,000 after acquiring an additional 14,326 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $738,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 5,033.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,084 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 6,946 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.