Q4 EPS Estimates for UnitedHealth Group Reduced by KeyCorp

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Analysts at KeyCorp reduced their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for UnitedHealth Group in a report released on Monday, January 6th. KeyCorp analyst M. Gillmor now expects that the healthcare conglomerate will earn $6.77 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $6.93. KeyCorp has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.61 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q1 2025 earnings at $7.50 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $7.37 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $7.60 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.35 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $29.83 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $34.05 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $627.58.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $524.14 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $482.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $556.20 and a 200-day moving average of $561.20. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,626,387,000 after purchasing an additional 563,554 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after buying an additional 318,039 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,884,019,000 after acquiring an additional 193,800 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. 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.