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King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) owns and operates acute care hospitals, and outpatient and behavioral health care facilities. Valued at a market cap of $12 billion, the company's range of services include general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care, pediatric services, pharmacy services, and behavioral health services. It is expected to announce its fiscal Q2 earnings for 2025 on Wednesday, Jul. 23.
Prior to this event, analysts project this healthcare company to report a profit of $4.87 per share, up 13% from $4.31 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has exceeded Wall Street’s bottom-line estimates in three of the last four quarters, while missing on another occasion. Its earnings of $4.84 per share in the previous quarter outpaced the consensus estimates by 11%.
For the full year, analysts expect UHS to report EPS of $19.43, up 17% from $16.61 in fiscal 2024. Furthermore, its EPS is expected to grow 8.9% year-over-year to $21.16 in fiscal 2026.
UHS has declined marginally over the past 52 weeks, lagging behind the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 13% return over the same time frame. However, it has outpaced the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLV) 6.3% downtick over the same time period.
On Apr. 28, UHS released its Q1 results, and its shares closed down marginally in the following trading session. The company’s overall revenue improved 6.7% year-over-year to $4.1 billion but fell short of the consensus estimates by nearly 1%. Meanwhile, on the earnings front, due to favorable pricing and margin improvement, the company’s adjusted EPS surged 30.8% year-over-year to $4.84 and surpassed the analyst estimates by 11%.
Wall Street analysts are moderately optimistic about UHS’ stock, with a "Moderate Buy" rating overall. Among 19 analysts covering the stock, eight recommend "Strong Buy," and 11 advise “Hold.” The mean price target for UHS is $226.19, which indicates a 22.6% potential upside from the current levels.
On the date of publication, Neharika Jain did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
