FY2024 EPS Estimate for UnitedHealth Group Raised by Analyst

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald raised their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst S. James now expects that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings per share of $27.56 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $27.50. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $644.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.68 per share.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.56 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $615.16.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $566.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $522.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $608.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $584.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $533.07.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 55.70%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after buying an additional 821,050 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.