UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.8 %

UNH opened at $565.39 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $520.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $586.36 and a 200-day moving average of $559.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after acquiring an additional 821,050 shares during the period. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $458,929,000 after purchasing an additional 776,516 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.