Reviewing InfuSystem (NYSE:INFU) & UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) and InfuSystem (NYSE:INFU) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares UnitedHealth Group and InfuSystem”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
UnitedHealth Group	$450.13 billion	0.75	$12.06 billion	$15.54	24.26
InfuSystem	$143.34 million	1.81	$870,000.00	$0.41	31.34

UnitedHealth Group has higher revenue and earnings than InfuSystem. UnitedHealth Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than InfuSystem, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares UnitedHealth Group and InfuSystem’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UnitedHealth Group	3.14%	16.53%	5.43%
InfuSystem	1.12%	2.78%	1.41%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.9% of UnitedHealth Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.1% of InfuSystem shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of UnitedHealth Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.8% of InfuSystem shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for UnitedHealth Group and InfuSystem, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
UnitedHealth Group	0	7	19	1	2.78
InfuSystem	0	1	3	0	2.75

UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus target price of $456.56, indicating a potential upside of 21.08%. InfuSystem has a consensus target price of $16.67, indicating a potential upside of 29.70%. Given InfuSystem’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe InfuSystem is more favorable than UnitedHealth Group.

Risk & Volatility

UnitedHealth Group has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, InfuSystem has a beta of 1.5, meaning that its share price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

UnitedHealth Group beats InfuSystem on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The Optum Health segment provides care delivery, care management, wellness and consumer engagement, and health financial services patients, consumers, care delivery systems, providers, employers, payers, and public-sector entities. The Optum Insight segment offers software and information products, advisory consulting arrangements, and managed services outsourcing contracts to hospital systems, physicians, health plans, governments, life sciences companies, and other organizations. The Optum Rx segment provides pharmacy care services and programs, including retail network contracting, home delivery, specialty and community health pharmacy services, infusion, and purchasing and clinical capabilities, as well as develops programs in the areas of step therapy, formulary management, drug adherence, and disease/drug therapy management. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated was founded in 1974 and is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

About InfuSystem

InfuSystem Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides infusion pumps, and related products and services in the United States and Canada. The company operates in two segments, Patient Services and Device Solutions. It supplies electronic ambulatory infusion pumps and associated disposable supply kits to oncology, infusion, and hospital outpatient chemotherapy clinics for the treatment of various cancers, including colorectal cancer, pain management, and other disease states. The company also sells, rents, and leases new and pre-owned pole-mounted and ambulatory infusion pumps, and other durable medical equipment; sells treatment-related consumables; and provides biomedical recertification, maintenance, and repair services for oncology practices, as well as other healthcare site settings comprising hospitals, home care and home infusion providers, skilled nursing and acute care facilities, pain centers, and others. In addition, it offers local and field-based customer support, as well as operates pump service and repair centers. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Rochester Hills, Michigan.