Sifting through countless of stocks in the Health Care Providers & Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Universal Health Services, Inc. or Quest Diagnostics Incorporated because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Universal Health Services, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Universal Health Services, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated

Universal Health Services, Inc., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, and outpatient and behavioral health care facilities in the United States. It operates through Acute Care Hospital Services and Behavioral Health Care Services segments. The company’s hospitals offer general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic and coronary care, pediatric, pharmacy, and/or behavioral health services. It also provides commercial health insurance services; capital resources; and various management services, including central purchasing, information services, finance and control systems, facilities planning, physician recruitment, administrative personnel management, marketing, and public relations services. Universal Health Services, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services. It also provides services under the Quest Diagnostics brand, as well as under the AmeriPath, Dermpath Diagnostics, ExamOne, and Quanum brands to physicians, hospitals, patients and consumers, health plans, government agencies, employers, retailers, pharmaceutical companies and insurers commercial clinical laboratories, and accountable care organizations through a network of laboratories, patient service centers, phlebotomists in physician offices, call centers and mobile phlebotomists, nurses, and other health and wellness professionals. In addition, the company offers risk assessment services for the life insurance industry; healthcare IT healthcare providers and payers; testing and medical director services at hospital laboratories; test offerings in cardiometabolic and endocrine; cancer; clinical drug monitoring and toxicology; infectious disease, including autoimmune; neurology diagnostics, including Alzheimer’s disease; and women’s health, such as prenatal genetic; workplace drug testing, testing urine, hair, and oral fluid specimens services; and employer population health services, including biometric screenings, flu shots, and related preventative services. Further, it provides population health solutions; extended care services; develops in vitro diagnostic tests; laboratory diagnostic information and digital health connectivity systems; underwriting support services, including data gathering, paramedical examinations, and clinical laboratory testing and analytics; and national specimen collection and health data solutions. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Latest Health Care Providers & Services and Universal Health Services, Inc., Quest Diagnostics Incorporated Stock News

As of October 9, 2026, Universal Health Services, Inc. had a $10.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Health Care Providers & Services median of $1.6 million. Universal Health Services, Inc.’s stock is down 18.7% in 2026, up 0.9% in the previous five trading days and down 13.57% in the past year.

Currently, Universal Health Services, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 7.2. Universal Health Services, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $18.1 billion with a 8.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 8.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $22.591 per share for the current fiscal year. Universal Health Services, Inc. currently has a 0.5% dividend yield.

As of October 9, 2026, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated had a $25.5 billion market cap, putting it in the 88th percentile of all stocks. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated’s stock is up 33.1% in 2026, down 1% in the previous five trading days and up 27.69% in the past year.

Currently, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated’s price-earnings ratio is 24.5. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated’s trailing 12-month revenue is $11.6 billion with a 9.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $11.195 per share for the current fiscal year. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated currently has a 1.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare Universal Health Services, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Universal Health Services, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Universal Health Services, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Universal Health Services, Inc.	UHS	A
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated	DGX	D

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Universal Health Services, Inc. has a Value Score of 94, which is Deep Value. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a Value Score of 34, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: Universal Health Services, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Universal Health Services, Inc. is considered to have better value than Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Universal Health Services, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Universal Health Services, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Universal Health Services, Inc.	UHS	A
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated	DGX	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Universal Health Services, Inc. has a Quality Score of 93, which is Very Strong. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a Quality Score of 89, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Universal Health Services, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Universal Health Services, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Universal Health Services, Inc.	UHS	C
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated	DGX	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Universal Health Services, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 42, which is Neutral. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a Earnings Estimate Score of 64, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Quest Diagnostics Incorporated

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Universal Health Services, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Universal Health Services, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated Grades

In addition to Quality, Estimate Revisions and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Universal Health Services, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Universal Health Services, Inc. or Quest Diagnostics Incorporated Stock?

Overall, Universal Health Services, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 94, Estimate Revisions Score of 42 and Quality Score of 93.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated stock has a Value Score of 34, Estimate Revisions Score of 64 and Quality Score of 89.

Comparing Universal Health Services, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.