UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading 2.9% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares rose 2.9% to about $313.20 mid-day (volume ~7.9M, down 18% vs. average), up from a close of $304.33.
• Wall Street sentiment is largely positive with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target of $363.42; Sanford C. Bernstein raised its target to $411 and several firms have upgraded or reiterated buy/overweight calls.
• Fundamentals show a slight beat: quarterly EPS of $2.11 topped estimates by $0.02 and revenue was $113.73B (up 12.3% YoY); the company pays a quarterly dividend of $2.21 (≈2.8% yield).

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) shot up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $313.32 and last traded at $313.2040. 7,898,455 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 9,685,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $304.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on UNH. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $411.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Evercore upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $330.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $363.42.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $284.29 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $318.17.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.02. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 2.69%.The business had revenue of $113.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.81 EPS. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.750- EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 67.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $1,059,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 105,621 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $36,471,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 111.5% in the third quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 41,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $14,282,000 after purchasing an additional 22,137 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 59.1% in the third quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 12,380 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,275,000 after purchasing an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $13,691,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company's benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.

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