UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Sanford C. Bernstein Analyst Says

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price target lifted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $433.00 to $440.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price points to a potential upside of 28.86% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on UNH. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $423.00 to $417.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Zacks Research upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings raised UnitedHealth Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.12.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.0%

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $341.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $309.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.82. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $343.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $329.40.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.15 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 22.4% during the third quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 2,413 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $13,691,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% during the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 17,162 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,926,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,286 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,554,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.