HSBC Downgrades UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) to Hold

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was downgraded by HSBC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, FinViz reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on UNH. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $615.16.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of UNH traded down $7.43 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $563.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,182,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,950,934. The company has a market capitalization of $520.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $608.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $584.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $532.84.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BCS Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. BCS Wealth Management now owns 1,127 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $341,000. LexAurum Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 9,686 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,663,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 80.6% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 242 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 329,532 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $192,671,000 after purchasing an additional 3,928 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.