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UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) closed at $266.05 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.87% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.66% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.56%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 3.03%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had gained 1.61% over the past month. This has outpaced the Medical sector's loss of 1.89% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.43% in that time.

UNH will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 15, 2019. On that day, UNH is projected to report earnings of $3.22 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 24.32%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $57.63 billion, up 10.69% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $12.81 per share and revenue of $225.19 billion, which would represent changes of +27.21% and +11.95%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for UNH. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.09% higher. UNH currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

In terms of valuation, UNH is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 21.16. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 19.3.

We can also see that UNH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.56. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Medical - HMOs industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.43 as of yesterday's close.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 99, which puts it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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