Stock Buyback Program Approved by Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Board of Directors

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the health services provider to repurchase up to 8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Universal Health Services Stock Up 4.2 %

UHS stock opened at $213.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Universal Health Services has a 1 year low of $119.90 and a 1 year high of $214.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.84. The firm has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is 6.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UHS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Universal Health Services from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $162.00 to $219.00 in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of Universal Health Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $198.00 to $256.00 in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $208.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.14.

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.