Zacks Research Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for UNH

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) - Zacks Research dropped their Q4 2026 earnings estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report released on Thursday, May 1st. Zacks Research analyst D. Chatterjee now expects that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings of $9.33 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $9.43. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group's current full-year earnings is $29.54 per share.

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

UNH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $650.00 to $575.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $1.96 on Friday, reaching $398.72. 11,384,114 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,611,075. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $393.11 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $495.85 and a 200-day moving average of $528.45. The company has a market capitalization of $362.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,039,933,000 after purchasing an additional 180,479 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.2% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 635 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 1,275 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $900,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

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.