Zacks Research Issues Positive Forecast for UNH Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for UnitedHealth Group in a note issued to investors on Thursday, March 6th. Zacks Research analyst D. Chatterjee now expects that the healthcare conglomerate will earn $7.42 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $7.24. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $29.54 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q2 2026 earnings at $7.65 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $493.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $513.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $553.39. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $451.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

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.