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A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Universal Health Services, Inc. UHS. Shares have added about 2.1% in that time frame.
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is UHS due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Universal Health Q4 Earnings, Revenues Beat Estimates
Universal Health reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of $2.00 per share that surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.84 by 8.7%. Earnings also grew 11% year over year.
Net revenues increased 6.7% year over year to $2.64 billion in the fourth quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.63 billion.
Total operating expenses of $2.3 billion at the end of the fourth quarter increased 6.6% year over year.
Full-Year Update
For 2017, the company reported net income of $7.81 per share, up 9.3% year over year.
Universal Health’s net revenues came in at $10.41 billion, up 6.6% from 2016.
Total operating expenses were $9.1 billion, up 7.6% year over year.
Quarterly Segment Update
Acute Care Hospitals
Adjusted admissions and adjusted patient days increased 7.3% and 5.2%, respectively, from the prior-year quarter. Net revenues from acute care services climbed 6.5% in the fourth quarter.
Behavioral Hospitals
On a same facility basis, adjusted admissions increased 2.5% while adjusted patient days declined 0.7%, both on a year-over-year basis. Net revenues increased 1.6% during the quarter on a same facility basis.
Financial Update
As of Dec 31, 2017, the company had cash and cash equivalents of nearly $74.4 million, up 120% from year-end 2016.
Total assets were $10.8 billion as of Dec 31, 2017, up 4.3% from year-end 2016.
The company managed to lower its debt burden, as evident from its long-term debt of $3.5 billion as of Dec 31, 2017, down 13% from year-end 2016.
For 2017, net cash provided by operating activities decreased 11.3% to $1.18 billion year over year.
Buyback Program
In November 2017, the board of directors authorized a $400 million increase in Universal Health’s stock repurchase program, which raised the aggregate authorization to $1.2 billion from $800 million approved during 2016 and 2014.
During the fourth quarter, the company repurchased nearly 1 million shares at an aggregate cost of $100.8 million.
In 2017, the company repurchased approximately 2.96 million shares at an aggregate cost of approximately $322.2 million.