UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Given Overweight Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group has received an "overweight" rating from Cantor Fitzgerald, with a price target of $440.00, suggesting a potential upside of 43.71% from its latest close.
• The company recently posted earnings of $4.08 per share, which fell short of analysts' expectations, and its quarterly revenue showed a growth of 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year.
• Analyst ratings for UnitedHealth Group include 15 "Buy," 6 "Hold," and 3 "Sell," reflecting an overall average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target around $353.00.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reiterated by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $440.00 price objective on the healthcare conglomerate's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price target would suggest a potential upside of 43.71% from the stock's previous close.

UNH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $353.00.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH traded up $1.3070 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $306.1670. The stock had a trading volume of 1,094,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,770,216. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $288.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $385.99. UnitedHealth Group has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $277.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Islay Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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