UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $27.50-28.00 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $27.50. UnitedHealth Group also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 27.500-28.000 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.5 %

UNH stock opened at $445.63 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $554.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $410.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $491.15 and a 200 day moving average of $515.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.37. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an overweight rating and a $551.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $596.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 29th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $573.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Power Corp of Canada purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth about $48,000. O Dell Group LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $74,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 173 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 79 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.