Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Shares Gap Down to $160.03

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $160.03, but opened at $155.25. Universal Health Services shares last traded at $153.97, with a volume of 161,889 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UHS. StockNews.com upgraded Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Universal Health Services from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Universal Health Services from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $181.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.71.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $170.67 and a 200-day moving average of $151.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.11. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 5.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Health Services news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total transaction of $6,188,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,162,563.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $1,138,729,000 after acquiring an additional 146,820 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Universal Health Services by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,026,512 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $728,594,000 after buying an additional 113,259 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Universal Health Services by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,398,974 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $427,353,000 after acquiring an additional 134,122 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Universal Health Services by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,071,022 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $315,707,000 after acquiring an additional 103,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Universal Health Services by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,707,708 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $214,710,000 after acquiring an additional 195,650 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.