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

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH)‘s stock had its “reduce” rating restated by stock analysts at HSBC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $270.00 price target on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, down from their previous price target of $490.00. HSBC’s target price points to a potential downside of 8.92% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on UNH. Argus lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $441.87.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $296.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $456.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $506.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital & Planning LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 491 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 771 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,746 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $15,553,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 8,867 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,485,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, Lockerman Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,138 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.