888 Reiterates “Maintains” Rating for Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS)

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS – Get Rating)‘s stock had its “maintains” rating restated by 888 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on UHS. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Universal Health Services from $130.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Universal Health Services from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 6th. VNET Group restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Universal Health Services from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.12.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Universal Health Services stock opened at $143.14 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.25. Universal Health Services has a 1 year low of $82.50 and a 1 year high of $154.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $130.93 and a 200-day moving average of $134.00.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The health services provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.19. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 12.33% and a net margin of 5.05%. The business had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Universal Health Services will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lawrence S. Gibbs sold 793 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.31, for a total value of $96,991.83. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,230 shares in the company, valued at $272,751.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Lawrence S. Gibbs sold 793 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.31, for a total transaction of $96,991.83. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,751.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lawrence S. Gibbs sold 1,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.29, for a total value of $201,158.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,820.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 16.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Health Services

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UHS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,856,010 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,138,729,000 after acquiring an additional 146,820 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Universal Health Services by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,026,512 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $728,594,000 after buying an additional 113,259 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,733,178 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $666,857,000 after purchasing an additional 101,132 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 7.9% in the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,585,716 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $201,544,000 after purchasing an additional 115,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,101,218 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $97,105,000 after acquiring an additional 8,038 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Health Services

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Universal Health Services, Inc operates as a healthcare management company, which through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, behavioral health centers, and outpatient facilities. It operates through the following segments: Acute Care Hospital Services, Behavioral Health Care Services, and Other.