Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $180.12, but opened at $190.09. Universal Health Services shares last traded at $193.02, with a volume of 296,575 shares.

The health services provider reported $4.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.71. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UHS. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Universal Health Services from $275.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays cut their target price on Universal Health Services from $271.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Universal Health Services from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.15, for a total transaction of $308,516.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,770.85. The trade was a 21.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 16.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Health Services

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UHS. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,675,182 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $838,821,000 after buying an additional 44,099 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,724,075 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $623,840,000 after acquiring an additional 17,527 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,713,572 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $306,776,000 after acquiring an additional 52,042 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,241,340 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $222,721,000 after acquiring an additional 253,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,197,537 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $274,248,000 after purchasing an additional 10,578 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 7.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $184.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.30.

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.