News

Universal Health Services, Inc. UHS is slated to release first-quarter 2024 results on Apr 24, after market close.

Q1 Estimates

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UHS’ first-quarter earnings per share is pegged at $3.14, which indicates an improvement of 34.2% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

The consensus mark for revenues is $3.8 billion, suggesting 8.7% growth from the year-ago quarter’s tally.

Earnings Surprise History

Universal Health boasts an impressive earnings surprise history. Its bottom line beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 5.87%. This is depicted in the chart below:

Universal Health Services, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

What our Quantitative Model Unveils

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Universal Health this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is the case here.

Earnings ESP: Universal Health has an Earnings ESP of +8.56% because the Most Accurate Estimate of $3.41 is pegged higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.14. You can uncover the best stocks before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: UHS carries a current Zacks Rank of 2.

Factors to Note

Universal Health’s revenues are expected to have benefited on the back of growing contributions from the Acute Care Hospital Services and Behavioral Health Care Services segments in the first quarter. Strong patient volumes are likely to have provided an impetus to the units’ quarterly performance.

Results of the Acute Care Hospital Services unit are likely to have gained from improved adjusted admissions and growth in surgical volumes. However, the escalation in physician expenses is likely to have hurt the performance of the unit.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for net revenues in the Acute Care Hospital Services segment is pegged at $2.1 billion, which indicates an improvement of 8.7% from the year-ago quarter. We expect it to improve 8% year over year in the to-be-reported quarter. Our estimate for same-facility adjusted admissions in the unit suggests 5.9% growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

In the first quarter, the Behavioral Health Care Services segment is expected to have been aided by the sustained demand for its behavioral services and improved same-store adjusted patient days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for net revenues in the Behavioral Health Care Services segment is pegged at $1.6 billion, which implies a 7.7% rise from the year-ago quarter’s reported number. We estimate it to grow 6.9% year over year in the to-be-reported quarter. We anticipate the unit's adjusted patient days to increase 2.4% year over year.

However, the margins of Universal Health are likely to have suffered a blow due to elevated salaries, wages and benefits coupled with a rise in supplies expense in the first quarter. We expect overall salaries, wages and benefits, and supplies expense to escalate 6.2% and 5.3%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis.

Other Stocks to Consider

Here are some companies from the Medical space, which according to our model, also have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this time around:

HCA Healthcare, Inc. HCA currently has an Earnings ESP of +13.46% and a Zacks Rank of 2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HCA’s first-quarter 2024 earnings is pegged at $5.01 per share, indicating a rise of 1.6% from the year-ago quarter’s reported number.

HCA Healthcare’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark once, the average surprise being 9.78%.

Insulet Corporation PODD has an Earnings ESP of +11.11% and a Zacks Rank of 2, at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PODD’s first-quarter 2024 earnings is pegged at 39 cents per share, which implies a 69.6% rise from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Insulet’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 100.09%.

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation EW has an Earnings ESP of +1.02% and a Zacks Rank of 3, at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EW’s first-quarter 2024 earnings is pegged at 64 cents per share, which indicates an improvement of 3.2% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Edwards Lifesciences’ earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and matched the mark twice, the average surprise being 0.80%.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.