Universal Health Services (UHS) Competitors

Alcon (NYSE:ALC) and Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, media sentiment, community ranking, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Do analysts prefer ALC or UHS?

Alcon currently has a consensus price target of $106.22, suggesting a potential upside of 17.35%. Universal Health Services has a consensus price target of $228.77, suggesting a potential upside of 27.89%. Given Universal Health Services' higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Universal Health Services is more favorable than Alcon.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alcon	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71
Universal Health Services	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Does the media refer more to ALC or UHS?

In the previous week, Universal Health Services had 28 more articles in the media than Alcon. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for Universal Health Services and 8 mentions for Alcon. Universal Health Services' average media sentiment score of 0.89 beat Alcon's score of 0.40 indicating that Universal Health Services is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Alcon	1 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Universal Health Services	17 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, ALC or UHS?

Alcon has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Universal Health Services. Universal Health Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alcon, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alcon	$9.91B	4.50	$974M	$2.05	44.16
Universal Health Services	$15.83B	0.73	$717.79M	$16.84	10.62

Is ALC or UHS more profitable?

Alcon has a net margin of 11.89% compared to Universal Health Services' net margin of 6.66%. Universal Health Services' return on equity of 15.75% beat Alcon's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alcon	11.89%	7.17%	5.03%
Universal Health Services	6.66%	15.75%	7.18%

Is ALC or UHS a better dividend stock?

Alcon pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Universal Health Services pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alcon pays out 12.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Universal Health Services pays out 4.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Universal Health Services is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in ALC or UHS?

53.9% of Alcon shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.1% of Universal Health Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Alcon shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.1% of Universal Health Services shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, ALC or UHS?

Alcon has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Universal Health Services has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in ALC or UHS?

Universal Health Services received 440 more outperform votes than Alcon when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 65.02% of users gave Universal Health Services an outperform vote while only 63.64% of users gave Alcon an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Alcon	Outperform Votes 203 63.64%	Underperform Votes 116 36.36%
Universal Health Services	Outperform Votes 643 65.02%	Underperform Votes 346 34.98%

Summary

Universal Health Services beats Alcon on 15 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.