Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

In the latest trading session, UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) closed at $347.86, marking a -0.58% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.19%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.49%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.45%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had lost 1.27% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's gain of 4.53% and the S&P 500's gain of 7.68% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from UNH as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.42, down 37.95% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $65.17 billion, up 7.02% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $16.78 per share and revenue of $256.79 billion, which would represent changes of +11.05% and +6.04%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for UNH should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. 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. 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, 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 0.03% higher. UNH is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, UNH is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 20.85. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.76.

We can also see that UNH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.65. 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. Medical - HMOs stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.36 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 206, which puts it in the bottom 20% 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