Leerink Partnrs Issues Pessimistic Outlook for UNH Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a note issued to investors on Monday, April 21st. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now anticipates that the healthcare conglomerate will earn $8.32 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $8.38. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $29.54 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s FY2029 earnings at $44.82 EPS.

UNH has been the subject of several other reports. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $650.00 to $575.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $660.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $604.67.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $428.25 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $506.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $537.23. The stock has a market cap of $391.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $417.12 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.18%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,068,869,000 after buying an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,807,527,000 after buying an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. 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.