Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $322.41, moving -0.24% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.8%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.43%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.5%.

UNH will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 14, 2020. In that report, analysts expect UNH to post earnings of $2.98 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 23.2%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $63.79 billion, up 5.69% from the year-ago period.

UNH's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $16.58 per share and revenue of $255.10 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +9.73% and +5.35%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for UNH should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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, 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. UNH currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, UNH is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.49. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.16.

Meanwhile, UNH's PEG ratio is currently 1.54. 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. UNH's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.54 as of yesterday's close.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 98, which puts it in the top 39% 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.

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) - free report >>

Published in