Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Outlook for UNH Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research dropped their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report released on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst D. Chatterjee now forecasts that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings of $27.54 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $27.61. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.61 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q3 2025 earnings at $7.93 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $30.11 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $8.09 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $34.03 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on UNH. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $592.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $544.97 billion, a PE ratio of 38.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $582.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $548.34. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.56 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Delta Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

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.