UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $27.50-28.00 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.50. UnitedHealth Group also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 27.500-28.000 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on UNH. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and set a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an overweight rating and a $551.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $573.80.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 5.3 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $469.14 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $490.31 and its 200 day moving average is $515.63. The stock has a market cap of $432.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.54%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Enlightenment Research LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $204,000. Wick Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.6% in the first quarter. Wick Capital Partners LLC now owns 433 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $182,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.8% in the second quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 370 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.