FY2026 EPS Estimate for UnitedHealth Group Raised by Analyst

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their FY2026 EPS estimates for UnitedHealth Group in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings of $19.52 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $18.26. Zacks Research has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $19.69 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q2 2027 earnings at $6.18 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $22.16 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $25.69 EPS.

UNH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $468.00 to $529.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $340.00 to $373.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $463.00 to $478.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $455.92.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.7%

UNH opened at $408.15 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $239.50 and a 1-year high of $461.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $412.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $349.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $370.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $112.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.81 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 16.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.500-20.000 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,600,260 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,238,162,000 after purchasing an additional 995,210 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,232,170 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,931,592,000 after buying an additional 1,119,834 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,591,042 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,457,723,000 after buying an additional 824,120 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,829,054 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,215,660,000 after acquiring an additional 680,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,655,111 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,158,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155,162 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $2.32 dividend. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $9.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.72%.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company’s benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.