Leerink Partnrs Has Negative Outlook for UNH FY2024 Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Stock analysts at Leerink Partnrs reduced their FY2024 EPS estimates for UnitedHealth Group in a research note issued on Monday, January 13th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now anticipates that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings per share of $27.47 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $27.57. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.61 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q4 2024 earnings at $6.55 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $7.34 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.27 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $29.73 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $8.42 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $8.52 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $8.56 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $8.18 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $33.69 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $38.29 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $43.97 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly 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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

UNH has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $543.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $500.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $554.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $563.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $480,903,000. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $458,929,000 after buying an additional 776,516 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,380,661,000 after buying an additional 587,088 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $601,951,000 after acquiring an additional 581,324 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.72%.

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.