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 Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $478.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $489.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $515.38. The company has a market cap of $441.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.75 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank restated a hold rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a reduce rating to a hold rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a buy rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $569.68.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $359,000. O Dell Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,000. Ashford Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,755 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,083,000 after purchasing an additional 3,131 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 108.3% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 318,659 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $167,765,000 after purchasing an additional 165,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 1,982 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.