Zacks Research Has Bearish Estimate for UNH Q4 Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report released on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst D. Chatterjee now anticipates that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings per share of $6.68 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $6.87. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.60 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q1 2025 earnings at $6.96 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $6.90 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $8.31 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $7.98 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $9.04 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 price objective (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $592.23 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $545.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $582.84 and a 200 day moving average of $549.98.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.56 earnings per share.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 20.6% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,867 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 314.3% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,073 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,004,000 after purchasing an additional 4,607 shares during the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 58.5% in the first quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 2,541 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 104.4% during the first quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 4,970 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,459,000 after buying an additional 2,539 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently 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.