Q2 2024 Earnings Forecast for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Issued By Zacks Research

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for UnitedHealth Group in a report issued on Thursday, June 27th. Zacks Research analyst D. Chatterjee now anticipates that the healthcare conglomerate will earn $6.68 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $6.75. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.55 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q4 2024 earnings at $6.71 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $7.22 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $7.32 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $8.25 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $8.40 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.26 EPS.

UNH has been the subject of several other research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 4.7 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $509.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $498.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $501.63. The firm has a market cap of $468.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.58.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 20.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,725,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,879,245,000 after purchasing an additional 623,631 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 111.0% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 40,915 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,629,000 after buying an additional 21,526 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.0% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 925,866 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $466,812,000 after buying an additional 84,215 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 16,786 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,463,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the period. Finally, Elevatus Welath Management bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at about $226,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

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.