UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Expected to Post FY2024 Earnings of $27.50 Per Share

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst S. James now expects that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings of $27.50 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $27.75. Cantor Fitzgerald has a “Overweight” rating and a $591.00 price target 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 have also weighed in on the company. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $491.23 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $488.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $515.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $452.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.26 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.