HSBC Reiterates Hold Rating for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by equities research analysts at HSBC in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $490.00 price target on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock. HSBC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.42% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $604.67.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $428.25 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $506.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $537.23. The company has a market cap of $391.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $417.12 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Balefire LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 28.3% in the first quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 617 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,842 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,012,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Flavin Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.8% during the first quarter. Flavin Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,800 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,513,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Sabal Trust CO lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Sabal Trust CO now owns 62,252 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,604,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.