Leerink Partnrs Has Pessimistic View of UNH FY2024 Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note issued on Monday, January 13th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings per share of $27.47 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $27.57. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.61 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q4 2024 earnings at $6.55 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $7.34 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.27 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $29.73 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $8.42 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $8.52 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $8.56 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $8.18 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $33.69 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $38.29 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $43.97 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm’s 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 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $543.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $554.45 and a 200-day moving average of $563.12. The firm has a market cap of $500.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.72%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.