UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07, RTT News reports. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $543.21 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $554.45 and its 200-day moving average is $563.12. The firm has a market cap of $499.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on UNH shares. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $626.79.

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.