UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $615.16.

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. HSBC lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.9 %

UNH opened at $566.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $522.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $584.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $533.07. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $608.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.68 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 55.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.