UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $615.53.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $625.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $575.41 billion, a PE ratio of 40.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $581.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $545.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.