Contrasting UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) & American Caresource (OTCMKTS:GNOW)

American Caresource (OTCMKTS:GNOW) and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares American Caresource and UnitedHealth Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Caresource	N/A	N/A	N/A
UnitedHealth Group	5.39%	26.29%	8.67%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.9% of UnitedHealth Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 51.5% of American Caresource shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of UnitedHealth Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares American Caresource and UnitedHealth Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Caresource	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
UnitedHealth Group	$400.28 billion	0.69	$14.41 billion	$23.88	12.72

UnitedHealth Group has higher revenue and earnings than American Caresource.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for American Caresource and UnitedHealth Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Caresource	0	0	0	0	0.00
UnitedHealth Group	1	8	16	0	2.60

UnitedHealth Group has a consensus target price of $415.00, indicating a potential upside of 36.60%. Given UnitedHealth Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe UnitedHealth Group is more favorable than American Caresource.

Summary

UnitedHealth Group beats American Caresource on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Caresource

American CareSource Holdings, Inc. provides urgent and primary care services in the United States. The company operates healthcare centers that offer non-life-threatening out-patient medical care for the treatment of acute, episodic, and chronic medical conditions. Its healthcare centers provide treatment of general medical problems, including colds, flus, ear infections, hypertension, asthma, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and other conditions; treatment of injuries, such as fractures, dislocations, sprains, bruises, and cuts; minor non-emergent surgical procedures; diagnostic tests, such as X-rays, electrocardiograms, complete blood counts, and urinalyses; and occupational and industrial medical services, including drug testing, workers’ compensation cases, and pre-employment physical examinations. It owns and operates 13 urgent and primary care centers, including 2 in Georgia, 2 in Florida, 3 in Alabama, 4 in North Carolina, and 2 in Virginia. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

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. The Optum Health segment provides care delivery, care management, wellness and consumer engagement, and health financial services patients, consumers, care delivery systems, providers, employers, payers, and public-sector entities. The Optum Insight segment offers software and information products, advisory consulting arrangements, and managed services outsourcing contracts to hospital systems, physicians, health plans, governments, life sciences companies, and other organizations. The Optum Rx segment provides pharmacy care services and programs, including retail network contracting, home delivery, specialty and community health pharmacy services, infusion, and purchasing and clinical capabilities, as well as develops programs in the areas of step therapy, formulary management, drug adherence, and disease/drug therapy management. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated was founded in 1974 and is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.