TD Cowen Boosts Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Price Target to $220.00

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from $183.00 to $220.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the health services provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.97% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $198.00 to $236.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Universal Health Services from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $189.00 to $226.00 in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.14.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Shares of UHS traded up $8.66 on Friday, reaching $213.65. The stock had a trading volume of 969,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 641,511. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $184.87 and a 200 day moving average of $173.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.28. Universal Health Services has a twelve month low of $119.90 and a twelve month high of $214.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

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

Universal Health Services declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the health services provider to repurchase up to 8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 53,239 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $8,116,000 after buying an additional 7,616 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Universal Health Services by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 29,932 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,570,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 4,906.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,354 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 3,287 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,383 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 34,178 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 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.