Stephens Reaffirms “Equal Weight” Rating for Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS)

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reiterated by analysts at Stephens in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $210.00 target price on the health services provider’s stock. Stephens’ target price points to a potential upside of 19.95% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $275.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America started coverage on Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $223.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Universal Health Services from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays decreased their price target on Universal Health Services from $271.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $228.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.77.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Universal Health Services stock opened at $175.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Universal Health Services has a 52-week low of $152.68 and a 52-week high of $243.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $184.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.02.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $4.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.71. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Universal Health Services will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $308,516.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,770.85. This represents a 21.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Universal Health Services

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UHS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 54,105 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $9,721,000 after purchasing an additional 9,946 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 255.3% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,345 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 4,559 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 175.6% during the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 2,792 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 86.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,047 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,820,000 after buying an additional 9,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 0.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,197,537 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $274,248,000 after buying an additional 10,578 shares during the period. 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.