UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on UNH. HSBC upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.58.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE UNH opened at $569.61 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $584.42 and its 200 day moving average is $534.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $608.63. The stock has a market cap of $524.26 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,475,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Collective Family Office LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% in the first quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at about $282,469,000. Institutional investors 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.