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UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
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In the latest trading session, UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) closed at $252.97, marking a -1.98% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.01%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.35%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.45%.
Heading into today, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had lost 3% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's loss of 5.57% and the S&P 500's loss of 7.29% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from UNH as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 15, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.22, up 24.32% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $57.94 billion, up 11.29% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $12.81 per share and revenue of $225.63 billion. These totals would mark changes of +27.21% and +12.17%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for UNH should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.02% higher. UNH is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Digging into valuation, UNH currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 20.15. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.7, so we one might conclude that UNH is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that UNH has a PEG ratio of 1.49 right now. 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 was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.3 at yesterday's closing price.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 87, putting it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) closed at $252.97, marking a -1.98% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.01%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.35%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.45%.
Heading into today, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had lost 3% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's loss of 5.57% and the S&P 500's loss of 7.29% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from UNH as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 15, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.22, up 24.32% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $57.94 billion, up 11.29% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $12.81 per share and revenue of $225.63 billion. These totals would mark changes of +27.21% and +12.17%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for UNH should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.02% higher. UNH is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Digging into valuation, UNH currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 20.15. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.7, so we one might conclude that UNH is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that UNH has a PEG ratio of 1.49 right now. 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 was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.3 at yesterday's closing price.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 87, putting it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.