Cantor Fitzgerald maintains Neutral on Universal Health Services stock
Investing.com
Published May 28, 2025 07:49AM ET
On Wednesday, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a Neutral rating on Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS), a $12.4 billion healthcare provider with a "GREAT" financial health score according to InvestingPro , with a steady price target of $227.00. The firm's analyst, Sarah James, highlighted a geographical spread in staffing pressures, noting an increase in facilities with more than 20% of positions unfilled—up to 12 cities in the second quarter of 2025 from 11 in the first quarter, and 7 in the fourth quarter of 2024. Despite these challenges, the company maintains strong profitability with a 42.7% gross margin and nearly 10% revenue growth over the last twelve months.
The analyst pointed out that while Universal Health Services is facing challenges in hiring for inpatient acute care positions, there is no indication that the company is ramping up bonus incentives to attract staff. Despite these hiring difficulties, the company is observed to maintain strong pricing discipline, which is a typical performance characteristic for Universal Health Services.
Additionally, James observed a positive trend in inpatient psychiatric care metrics, suggesting some areas of improvement within the company. However, the stability in physician openings coupled with an increase in bonuses for these roles could signal a potential shift in trends for Universal Health Services, which has traditionally been consistent in its approach to staffing and compensation.
Universal Health Services has not made any public comments regarding the analyst's observations or the reiterated stock rating and price target. Trading at a P/E ratio of 10.2, the company's stock performance following this reaffirmation of the Neutral rating by Cantor Fitzgerald will continue to be monitored by investors and industry observers. For deeper insights into UHS's valuation and growth prospects, including 8 additional exclusive ProTips, visit InvestingPro to access the comprehensive Pro Research Report.
In other recent news, Universal Health Services (UHS) reported its Q1 2025 earnings, highlighting a net income per diluted share of $4.80, which surpassed analyst expectations of $4.36. The company's revenue, however, came in slightly below forecasts at $4.1 billion, compared to the anticipated $4.16 billion. Despite the revenue miss, UHS reiterated its full-year earnings guidance, maintaining a positive outlook for the remainder of the year. Additionally, Universal Health Services declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share, payable on June 16, 2025, to shareholders of record by June 2, 2025. This dividend declaration underscores the company's commitment to delivering shareholder value and reflects its financial stability. The company's performance in the acute care and behavioral health segments showed resilience, with a 2.4% increase in same-facility acute care hospital admissions and a 5.5% rise in same-facility net revenue for behavioral health hospitals. Furthermore, UHS plans to allocate between $800 million and $1 billion for capital expenditures and anticipates share repurchases around $600 million for the year. Analyst firms Wolfe Research and Cantor Fitzgerald engaged with UHS during the earnings call, focusing on behavioral health volume growth and Medicaid supplemental payments, indicating ongoing interest and analysis from the investment community.
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Written By: Investing.com
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