Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS), headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, is a healthcare management company that owns and operates acute care hospitals, outpatient and behavioral health care facilities. Valued with a market capitalization of $10.9 billion, the company is expected to announce its fiscal first quarter 2026 results in the near future.
Ahead of this event, analysts expect this healthcare company to post earnings of $5.36 per share, up 10.7% from $4.84 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has surpassed Wall Street earnings estimates in three of the last four quarters, although it fell short on another occasion. Its earnings of $5.88 per share in the previous quarter were slightly below expectations.
For the current fiscal year, which ends in December, analysts expect UHS to post earnings of $23.43 per share, up 7.8% from $21.74 per share in fiscal 2025. Additionally, its EPS is expected to grow 8.9% year-over-year to $25.52 in fiscal 2027.
UHS stock has fallen 7.1% over the past 52 weeks, significantly underperforming both the 16.7% return of the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) and the 2% gain of the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) over the same time period.
UHS stock plunged 11.4% on February 26, following the mixed release of its fourth-quarter results on February 25. The company posted revenue of $4.5 billion, which beat analyst estimates by a slight margin. However, its adjusted earnings of $5.88 per share missed consensus expectations of $5.92, which could have made investors nervous. Despite the earnings decline, UHS offered an encouraging outlook for 2026, projecting both revenue and earnings per share above Wall Street expectations.
Wall Street analysts are moderately bullish on UHS stock, with an overall rating of “Moderate Buy.” Among the 19 analysts covering the stock, seven recommend a “Strong Buy”, one advises a “Moderate Buy”, 10 suggest a “Hold” and one indicates a “Moderate Sell” rating. The average price target for UHS is $251.06, indicating a potential upside of 42.2% from current levels.
On the date of publication, Neharika Jain had no (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article are for informational purposes only. This article was originally published on Barchart.com