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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 $480.81, moving +0.96% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.42% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.56%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.08%.
Coming into today, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had lost 6.75% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 1.89%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.02%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from UnitedHealth Group as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect UnitedHealth Group to post earnings of $6.36 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 9.84%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $91.44 billion, up 13.03% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $24.83 per share and revenue of $367.84 billion. These totals would mark changes of +11.9% and +13.47%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for UnitedHealth Group should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of 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. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. UnitedHealth Group is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
In terms of valuation, UnitedHealth Group is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.18. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.7.
Also, we should mention that UNH has a PEG ratio of 1.4. 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 1.06 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 52, putting it in the top 21% 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) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $480.81, moving +0.96% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.42% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.56%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.08%.
Coming into today, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had lost 6.75% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 1.89%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.02%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from UnitedHealth Group as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect UnitedHealth Group to post earnings of $6.36 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 9.84%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $91.44 billion, up 13.03% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $24.83 per share and revenue of $367.84 billion. These totals would mark changes of +11.9% and +13.47%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for UnitedHealth Group should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of 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. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. UnitedHealth Group is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
In terms of valuation, UnitedHealth Group is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.18. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.7.
Also, we should mention that UNH has a PEG ratio of 1.4. 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 1.06 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 52, putting it in the top 21% 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.