Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Investors Undervaluing Universal Health Services (UHS) Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company to watch right now is Universal Health Services (UHS - Free Report) . UHS is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 13.18, while its industry has an average P/E of 15.35. Over the past 52 weeks, UHS's Forward P/E has been as high as 15.12 and as low as 10.83, with a median of 12.68.

We also note that UHS holds a PEG ratio of 0.89. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. UHS's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.40. Over the last 12 months, UHS's PEG has been as high as 1.92 and as low as 0.71, with a median of 1.20.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Universal Health Services is likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, UHS feels like a great value stock at the moment.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) - free report >>

Published in