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UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $242.40, moving +0.14% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.69%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.87%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.79%.

Heading into today, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had gained 3.86% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's loss of 0.97% and the S&P 500's loss of 4.53% in that time.

UNH will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.47, up 10.51% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $60.61 billion, up 8.07% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $14.71 per share and revenue of $243.86 billion, which would represent changes of +14.21% and +7.79%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for UNH. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.05% higher. UNH is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, UNH is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.46. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.24.

It is also worth noting that UNH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.3. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Medical - HMOs was holding an average PEG ratio of 1 at yesterday's closing price.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 19, putting it in the top 8% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.

To follow UNH in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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