UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 22% After Earnings Miss

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price traded down 22% during mid-day trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $447.10 and last traded at $456.10. 29,048,929 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 561% from the average session volume of 4,391,399 shares. The stock had previously closed at $585.04.

The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $632.85.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $512.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $540.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $417.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.