Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $271.00 to $249.00. The stock had previously closed at $186.06, but opened at $170.61. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Universal Health Services shares last traded at $172.44, with a volume of 189,155 shares traded.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on UHS. StockNews.com downgraded Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $198.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $275.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $226.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.29.

Insider Activity at Universal Health Services

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.15, for a total value of $308,516.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,770.85. The trade was a 21.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 16.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services in the fourth quarter worth $8,495,000. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,953 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $254,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Universal Health Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,709,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Universal Health Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $359,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 7.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.32. The firm has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.30.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $4.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is presently 5.32%.

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.