Q4 EPS Forecast for UnitedHealth Group Decreased by Analyst

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Investment analysts at KeyCorp decreased their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for UnitedHealth Group in a research report issued on Monday, January 6th. KeyCorp analyst M. Gillmor now anticipates that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings per share of $6.77 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $6.93. KeyCorp currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.61 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q1 2025 earnings at $7.50 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $7.37 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $7.60 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.35 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $29.83 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $34.05 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $520.11 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $555.25 and its 200-day moving average is $561.41. The company has a market cap of $478.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Delta Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $965,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Jmac Enterprises LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.