UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $372.1250.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $411.00 to $409.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $415.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $430.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $270.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $321.03. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $606.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.02. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 2.69%.The company had revenue of $113.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.750- EPS. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 67.02%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $1,059,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth approximately $1,572,193,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 105,621 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $36,471,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 48.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,790 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,806,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 111.5% during the 3rd quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 41,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,282,000 after buying an additional 22,137 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company’s benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.