Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Given New $206.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $201.00 to $206.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the health services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on UHS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America cut shares of Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $243.00 to $203.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Universal Health Services from $257.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.15.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

NYSE:UHS opened at $182.5930 on Tuesday. Universal Health Services has a 52-week low of $152.33 and a 52-week high of $243.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $173.62 and a 200 day moving average of $178.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of UHS. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,461,198 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $264,696,000 after buying an additional 145,730 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 9.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,241,738 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $233,311,000 after acquiring an additional 102,137 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 57.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 340,966 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 3.5% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 926,669 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $167,866,000 after acquiring an additional 31,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 639,524 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $115,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.