Q1 EPS Estimate for UnitedHealth Group Lowered by Analyst

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for UnitedHealth Group in a research report issued on Thursday, January 16th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings per share of $7.30 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $7.34. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.60 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q2 2025 earnings at $7.53 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $7.64 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.22 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $29.69 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $8.38 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $8.55 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $8.60 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $8.13 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $38.25 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $43.57 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $510.03 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $549.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $563.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $469.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth about $480,903,000. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $458,929,000 after purchasing an additional 776,516 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,380,661,000 after acquiring an additional 587,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $601,951,000 after acquiring an additional 581,324 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

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.