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 Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services or Inc. 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 Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc.

Elevance Health, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company operates in four segments: Health Benefits, CarelonRx, Carelon Services, and Corporate & Other. It offers a variety of health plans and services to individual, employer group risk-based and fee-based, BlueCard, Medicare, Medicaid, and FEP members; health products; a broad array of fee-based administrative managed care services; and specialty and other insurance products and services, such as stop loss, dental, vision, and supplemental health insurance benefits. The company also operates in the pharmacy services business; and markets and offers pharmacy services, including home delivery and specialty pharmacies, claims adjudication, formulary management, pharmacy networks, rebate administration, a prescription drug database, and member services, as well as infusion services and injectable therapies through ambulatory infusion centers. In addition, it provides healthcare related services and capabilities, including specialty care enablement and utilization management support for specialized clinical domains; behavioral health and comprehensive care management services; palliative care services and management; virtual care; and payment integrity, subrogation, clinical data exchange through its HealthOS platform, research and data, reporting and clinical analytics, information technology, and business process support services, as well as manages home health, post-acute institutional management, and durable medical equipment costs; and supports plans in managing home and community-based services. The company provides its services under the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Wellpoint, and Carelon brands. The company was formerly known as Anthem, Inc. and changed its name to Elevance Health, Inc. in June 2022. Elevance Health, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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.

Latest Health Care Providers & Services and Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services, Inc. Stock News

As of July 31, 2026, Elevance Health, Inc. had a $81.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Health Care Providers & Services median of $1.7 million. Elevance Health, Inc.’s stock is up 7.2% in 2026, down 0.5% in the previous five trading days and up 28.03% in the past year.

Currently, Elevance Health, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 16.7. Elevance Health, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $201.1 billion with a 2.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 1.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $27.158 per share for the current fiscal year. Elevance Health, Inc. currently has a 1.8% dividend yield.

As of July 31, 2026, Universal Health Services, Inc. had a $10.2 billion market cap, putting it in the 78th percentile of all stocks. Universal Health Services, Inc.’s stock is down 22.7% in 2026, up 8.1% in the previous five trading days and up 1.81% in the past year.

Currently, Universal Health Services, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 7.0. Universal Health Services, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $17.8 billion with a 8.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 9.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $22.711 per share for the current fiscal year. Universal Health Services, Inc. currently has a 0.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc. 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 Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Elevance Health, Inc.	ELV	B
Universal Health Services, Inc.	UHS	A

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.

Elevance Health, Inc. has a Value Score of 73, which is Value. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a Value Score of 95, which is Deep Value.

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 Elevance Health, Inc.. 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.

Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Elevance Health, Inc.	ELV	A
Universal Health Services, Inc.	UHS	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.

Elevance Health, Inc. has a Quality Score of 83, which is Very Strong. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a Quality Score of 96, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc. 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.

Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Elevance Health, Inc.	ELV	B
Universal Health Services, Inc.	UHS	D

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.

Elevance Health, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 70, which is Positive. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 26, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Elevance Health, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Elevance Health, Inc. 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, Elevance Health, Inc. 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 Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc. Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Quality 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 Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Elevance Health, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 73, Estimate Revisions Score of 70 and Quality Score of 83.

Universal Health Services, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 95, Estimate Revisions Score of 26 and Quality Score of 96.

Comparing Elevance Health, Inc., Universal Health Services and Inc.’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.