UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Releases FY24 Earnings Guidance

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

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 5.3 %

Shares of UNH opened at $469.14 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $490.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $515.63. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.37. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and set a $605.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $584.00 to $581.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $573.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

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

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $359,000. O Dell Group LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $74,000. Ashford Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,755 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,083,000 after buying an additional 3,131 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 108.3% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 318,659 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $167,765,000 after acquiring an additional 165,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 1,982 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

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.