Leerink Partnrs Has Pessimistic View of UNH Q2 Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs reduced their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, July 15th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the healthcare conglomerate will earn $3.69 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $5.24. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $29.54 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q3 2025 earnings at $3.60 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.69 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $18.20 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $6.25 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $5.08 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $4.93 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $4.73 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $21.00 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $26.24 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $30.07 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $33.34 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $394.43.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $288.03 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $261.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $306.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $434.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

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.