UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

by · The Markets Daily

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $615.16.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on UNH

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.7 %

UNH stock opened at $571.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $527.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $584.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $532.84. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $608.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.68 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Swedbank AB bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,141,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,758 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after buying an additional 821,050 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

(Get Free Report)

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.

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