Brokers Set Expectations for UNH FY2026 Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) - Research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald issued their FY2026 earnings estimates for UnitedHealth Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, June 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst S. James anticipates that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings of $26.65 per share for the year. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group's current full-year earnings is $29.54 per share.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH traded up $4.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $308.64. 8,302,867 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,068,435. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $399.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $479.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy bought 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.