Q4 EPS Estimates for UnitedHealth Group Cut by KeyCorp

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) - Equities researchers at KeyCorp decreased their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note issued to investors on Monday, January 6th. KeyCorp analyst M. Gillmor now anticipates that the healthcare conglomerate will earn $6.77 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $6.93. KeyCorp currently has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group's current full-year earnings is $27.61 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group's Q1 2025 earnings at $7.50 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $7.37 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $7.60 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.35 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $29.83 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $34.05 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on UNH. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $627.58.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of UNH traded up $9.89 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $524.14. The stock had a trading volume of 4,139,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,943,532. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $556.20 and a 200 day moving average of $561.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $482.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. UnitedHealth Group's revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.56 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $26,626,387,000 after purchasing an additional 563,554 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after acquiring an additional 318,039 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,884,019,000 after purchasing an additional 193,800 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

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.