UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Short Interest Update

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,430,000 shares, a decrease of 18.8% from the November 30th total of 7,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $2.19 on Monday, reaching $507.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,408,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,106,859. The company has a market capitalization of $467.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $565.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $560.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.56 EPS. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Delta Financial Group Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jmac Enterprises LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.84.

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.