Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays raised its price target on UnitedHealth Group from $429 to $441 and kept an overweight rating, implying about 4% upside from the current price.
• Other analysts have also turned more positive on UNH, with several lifting targets; MarketBeat reports an overall Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $447.79.
• UnitedHealth recently beat quarterly expectations, posting $6.38 EPS versus $4.94 expected and revenue of $112.03 billion, while the company also guided to 19.5-20.0 EPS for FY 2026.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Barclays from $429.00 to $441.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock. Barclays's target price would suggest a potential upside of 4.02% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on UNH. Robert W. Baird upgraded UnitedHealth Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $287.00 to $453.00 in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $447.79.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $423.94 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $461.62. The company has a market cap of $385.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $404.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $342.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $1.44. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The firm had revenue of $112.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.08 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.500-20.000 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 18.77 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total value of $284,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 17,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,320,775. The trade was a 4.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 80 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.

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