UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Upgraded at StockNews.com

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on UNH. Argus increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 target price (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.6 %

UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $10.24 on Tuesday, hitting $615.01. 2,809,452 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,897,003. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $582.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $546.78. The firm has a market cap of $565.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 20,377 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $11,914,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.