Analysts Set Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Price Target at $154.46

Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $154.46.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UHS. Credit Suisse Group upped their target price on Universal Health Services from $163.00 to $169.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Universal Health Services from $153.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday, September 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on Universal Health Services from $154.00 to $162.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday, September 21st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 5.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 34,561 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 4.5% during the third quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC now owns 2,498 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 634,646 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $79,794,000 after buying an additional 1,646 shares in the last quarter. Humankind Investments LLC boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 4.9% during the third quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Universal Health Services during the third quarter valued at about $1,157,000. Institutional investors own 85.11% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of UHS opened at $129.52 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $126.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.92. Universal Health Services has a 52-week low of $113.69 and a 52-week high of $158.57. The firm has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The health services provider reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.21. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 4.82%. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.54 EPS. Universal Health Services’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Universal Health Services will post 10.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Universal Health Services

Universal Health Services, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, and outpatient and behavioral health care facilities. The company operates through Acute Care Hospital Services and Behavioral Health Care Services segments. Its 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.