UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Receives Sell (D+) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group's stock has been reaffirmed with a "sell (D+)" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating a negative sentiment among analysts.
• Recent analyst ratings reveal a range of sentiments, with sixteen analysts maintaining a Buy rating, and significant price target adjustments, including a drop to $198.00 from $312.00 by Robert W. Baird.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss of $4.08 EPS, which was below the analysts' expectations of $4.45, alongside a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.9%.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d+)" rating restated by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

UNH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $198.00 price objective (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $372.68.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $6.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $370.58. 8,164,734 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,738,613. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. UnitedHealth Group has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $311.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $352.42. The stock has a market cap of $335.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.47.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,519,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $13,537,859,000 after buying an additional 2,486,839 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,312,182 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $6,624,411,000 after acquiring an additional 675,075 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,837,207,000. Finally, Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 117.7% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,750,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,729,912,000 after acquiring an additional 4,730,192 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

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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