Townsquare Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,863 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $427,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UHS. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 134.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,744 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 5,010 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Universal Health Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $642,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,521 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $820,000 after buying an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 84.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 665 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 31.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 942 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UHS. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $247.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Universal Health Services from $256.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Universal Health Services from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Universal Health Services in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.50.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE UHS opened at $199.12 on Thursday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.70 and a fifty-two week high of $243.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $13.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $213.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.77.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.75 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.90 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is currently 5.32%.

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.