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If You Invested $1000 in UnitedHealth Group a Decade Ago, This is How Much It'd Be Worth Now

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How much a stock's price changes over time is important for most investors, since price performance can both impact your investment portfolio and help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

The fear of missing out, or FOMO, also plays a factor in investing, especially with particular tech giants, as well as popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to UNH for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

UnitedHealth Group's Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at UnitedHealth Group's main business drivers.

UnitedHealth Group, Inc. provides a wide range of health care products and services, such as health maintenance organizations (HMOs), point of service plans (POS), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), and managed fee-for-service programs.

UnitedHealth has the largest and most diverse membership base within the managed-care organization market, which gives it significant competitive advantages. It also has built its prescription drug business through OptumRx division, with the acquisition of Catamaran in 2015.

The company has acquired a number of competing healthcare providers. These acquisitions have transformed it from a pure health insurer to a comprehensive healthcare provider.

UnitedHealth reports through two segments: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Its strategy is to meld the provision of medical care from its Optum unit with UnitedHealthcare brand insurance products, which help in cross selling of products and services.

UnitedHealthcare (contributed approximately 63% of revenues in 2020) is divided into UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual; UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement; UnitedHealthcare Community & State and UnitedHealthcare Global.

Optum (47%) is a technology-enabled health services business serving the broad health care marketplace, including those who need care: the consumers who need the right support, information, resources and products; those who provide care: pharmacies, hospitals, physicians, practices and other health care facilities.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, the company entered into agreements to acquire multiple companies, which are expected to close in the first half of 2021. Additionally, in January 2021, it entered into agreements to purchase multiple companies in the health care sector, most notably, Change Healthcare. This acquisition is likely to close in the second half of 2021. The total capital required for these acquisitions is nearly $13 billion.

Bottom Line

Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of a few things: research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in UnitedHealth Group a decade ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.

According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in March 2011 would be worth $8,522.03, or a gain of 752.20%, as of March 30, 2021, and this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.

The S&P 500 rose 200.97% and the price of gold increased 15.61% over the same time frame in comparison.

Analysts are anticipating more upside for UNH.

Shares of UnitedHealth have outperformed its industry in a year. The company’s top line is bolstered by new deals, renewed agreements and expansion of service offerings. Its numerous acquisitions bode well for its inorganic growth profile. The company’s solid health services segment provides significant diversification benefits. It remains well poised to gain from its government business, comprising both Medicaid and Medicare Advantage. A sturdy balance sheet and consistent cash flow generation is another positive, which has resulted in a solid capital position. This has empowered the company to engage in prudent shareholder-friendly moves through share buybacks and dividend payments. A strong 2021 guidance instills investor confidence in the stock. However, the company is witnessing a slowdown in international and commercial business.

Over the past four weeks, shares have rallied 13.27%, and there have been 2 higher earnings estimate revisions in the past two months for fiscal 2021 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.


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