Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $605.00 to $600.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.61% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 price target (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $628.37.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $505.86 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $465.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $561.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $560.42.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

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.