StockNews.com Upgrades UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) to Buy

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $519.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $477.70 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $545.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $564.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.