Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Price Target Raised to $249.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $210.00 to $249.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the health services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on UHS. Wall Street Zen cut Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Universal Health Services from $201.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $227.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America lowered Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group set a $227.00 target price on Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $217.08.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 1.5%

Universal Health Services stock opened at $209.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $185.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.29. Universal Health Services has a one year low of $152.33 and a one year high of $240.26. The stock has a market cap of $13.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.30.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The health services provider reported $5.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.50. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 7.66%.The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Universal Health Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.000-21.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.21%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Health Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UHS. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services during the second quarter worth about $87,373,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services during the second quarter worth about $83,333,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 100.6% in the second quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 2,560 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 426,211 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 57.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 931,355 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $173,381,000 after purchasing an additional 340,966 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 329.4% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 404,806 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $76,081,000 after purchasing an additional 310,531 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.