FY2024 Earnings Forecast for UNH Issued By Leerink Partnrs

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report issued on Tuesday, October 15th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now expects that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings of $27.57 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $27.67. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.68 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q4 2024 earnings at $6.65 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $7.35 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.48 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $29.80 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $33.86 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $38.61 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $44.08 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on UNH. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.58.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $569.61 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $608.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $524.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.82, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $584.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $534.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after buying an additional 1,196,758 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after buying an additional 821,050 shares during 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.