By Sam Boughedda
Universal Health (NYSE:UHS) pre-announced a second-quarter miss and lowered guidance on Thursday.
The company said that due to a "significant shortfall" in operating results experienced during April and May, it has lowered guidance. The company now sees adjusted net income at approximately $2.05 to $2.15 per share for the three months ended June 30.
Following the news, Cowen analyst Gary Taylor said in a note, "the flat sequential earnings preview does not appear to imply worse performance than already anticipated for HCA (NYSE:HCA)."
Taylor, who has a Market Perform and $132 price target on UHS shares, continued: "UHS lowered FY22 guidance with Adj EBITDA now expected to range $1.63-1.71b, down (11%) from previous guidance of $1.83-1.93b and (7%) below current consensus $1.80b. The midpoint of revised FY22 EBITDA guidance is down (12%) yty vs 2021 reported $1.90b. Net revenues now expected in the range of $13.24-13.37b, (down from $13.42-13.69b) vs cons/Cowen $13.5/13.4b. Adj EPS lowered to $9.60-10.40 from $11.90-12.90 vs cons/Cowen $11.69/12.01. At 1Q22, UHS did not alter previous FY22 guidance, but the company noted it may revise guidance downward due to COVID and labor headwinds if the challenging environment it faced in 1Q22 does not improve."
The news was "consistent with our soft April and May hospital surveys and our 2Q22 earnings preview," added Taylor.
UHS shares are down over 5.5% Thursday.