JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has downgraded UnitedHealth Group's target price from $418.00 to $310.00, while maintaining an "overweight" rating, reflecting a potential upside of 26.23% from its current price.
• Other analysts have also lowered their target prices for UnitedHealth, with Oppenheimer dropping theirs to $325.00 and TD Securities to $308.00, leading to a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts.
• UnitedHealth's recent earnings report showed earnings per share of $4.08, missing expectations, though revenue increased by 12.9% year-over-year, totaling $111.62 billion for the quarter.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $418.00 to $310.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.23% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on UNH. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. TD Cowen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH traded down $5.41 on Wednesday, reaching $245.59. 12,894,880 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,122,262. The firm has a market cap of $222.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $294.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $411.68. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.80 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 94.7% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 364 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Investors L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.6% during the second quarter. Disciplined Investors L.L.C. now owns 1,387 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Bensler LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 142.1% during the second quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 16,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $5,245,000 after buying an additional 9,868 shares during the period. Garrison Point Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.2% in the second quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 2,731 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth approximately $418,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

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.

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