Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price target upped by Barclays from $603.00 to $655.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

UNH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $618.26.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $610.53 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $585.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $556.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $561.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Delta Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.