Leerink Partnrs Has Negative Outlook of UNH FY2024 Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Leerink Partnrs cut their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report issued on Tuesday, October 15th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings of $27.57 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $27.67. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.68 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q4 2024 earnings at $6.65 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $7.35 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.48 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $29.80 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $33.86 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $38.61 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $44.08 EPS.

UNH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.16.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $566.00 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $608.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $522.66 billion, a PE ratio of 37.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $584.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $533.07.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.