Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Rating Increased to Overweight at Barclays

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) was upgraded by analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $256.00 target price on the health services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 24.88% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group raised shares of Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $189.00 to $226.00 in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $162.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $181.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.50.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

UHS stock opened at $204.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average is $184.87 and its 200-day moving average is $173.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Universal Health Services has a 1 year low of $119.90 and a 1 year high of $207.70.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The health services provider reported $4.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.94. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 15.12%. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.53 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Universal Health Services will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 386 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 624 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 12,776 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,331,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,070 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during 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.