UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $596.86.

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $652.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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, April 22nd. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $404.81 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $393.11 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $368.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $494.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $527.03. 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend 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.