Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated’s FY2024 Earnings (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report issued on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst S. James now forecasts that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings per share of $27.50 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $27.75. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $591.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.61 per share.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $486.37 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $448.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $487.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $514.76.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.26 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Robbins Farley purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% in the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.