UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Hits New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $660.00 to $580.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as low as $431.98 and last traded at $435.32, with a volume of 3059387 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $454.11.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on UNH. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $540.00 target price (down previously from $635.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $615.24.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

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

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $389.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $510.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $538.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.18%.

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.