Q2 2023 EPS Estimates for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated Cut by Analyst (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) – Equities researchers at SVB Leerink dropped their Q2 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, January 17th. SVB Leerink analyst W. Mayo now expects that the healthcare conglomerate will earn $6.23 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $6.25. SVB Leerink has a “Outperform” rating and a $618.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $24.82 per share. SVB Leerink also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q1 2024 earnings at $6.96 EPS and Q3 2024 earnings at $7.49 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $5.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $82.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.53 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 27.04% and a net margin of 6.21%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.48 EPS.

UNH has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $569.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 18th. Raymond James lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $615.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 21st. Loop Capital increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $575.00 to $590.00 in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $599.28.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $486.72 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $445.73 and a 52-week high of $558.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $454.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $519.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $524.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. TimeScale Financial Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 276.9% during the third quarter. TimeScale Financial Inc. now owns 49 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pflug Koory LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 160.0% during the third quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 52 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Urban Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Knott David M Jr purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $31,000. 86.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $542.30, for a total value of $244,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,737,532.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 5th were paid a $1.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 2nd. This represents a $6.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.15%.

About UnitedHealth Group

(Get Rating)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It 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 well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs for preventive and acute health care services, as well as services dealing with chronic disease and other specialized issues for older individuals; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; health and dental benefits; and hospital and clinical services.