Zacks Research Has Positive Estimate for UNH Q1 Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research raised their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report issued on Thursday, March 6th. Zacks Research analyst D. Chatterjee now expects that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings per share of $7.22 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $7.18. 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 2025 earnings at $7.49 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $7.62 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.21 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $8.88 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $9.43 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $493.35 on Friday. 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 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $513.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $553.76. The stock has a market cap of $454.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

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 purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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