Zacks Research Issues Negative Estimate for UNH Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for UnitedHealth Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, May 1st. Zacks Research analyst D. Chatterjee now expects that the healthcare conglomerate will earn $5.93 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $7.49. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $29.54 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q3 2025 earnings at $6.66 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $6.28 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $26.07 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $6.49 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $6.12 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $7.51 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $29.45 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $7.49 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $33.28 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also commented on UNH. HSBC restated a “hold” rating and set a $490.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $652.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $398.72 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $495.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $528.18. The company has a market capitalization of $362.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $393.11 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.91 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th 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 increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during 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 last quarter. 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 position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in 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. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

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.