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UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

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UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) closed at $589.14 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.87% move from the prior day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.13%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.55%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.52%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had gained 2.88% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's gain of 3.34% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.67% in that time.

The upcoming earnings release of UnitedHealth Group will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on October 15, 2024. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $7.05, showcasing a 7.47% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $99.19 billion, up 7.39% from the year-ago period.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $27.69 per share and a revenue of $398.84 billion, indicating changes of +10.23% and +7.32%, respectively, from the former year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for UnitedHealth Group should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. Right now, UnitedHealth Group possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, UnitedHealth Group is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 21.47. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 17.03 of its industry.

Also, we should mention that UNH has a PEG ratio of 1.65. 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. Medical - HMOs stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.45 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 211, finds itself in the bottom 17% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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