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UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
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UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) closed at $507.02 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.76% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 1.24% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.23%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.15%.
Coming into today, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had gained 3.79% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 0.3%, while the S&P 500 lost 2.45%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from UnitedHealth Group as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, UnitedHealth Group is projected to report earnings of $5.39 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 1.51%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $78.55 billion, up 11.89% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $21.70 per share and revenue of $319.21 billion, which would represent changes of +14.09% and +10.99%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for UnitedHealth Group. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. UnitedHealth Group is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, UnitedHealth Group is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 22.97. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.36.
Meanwhile, UNH's PEG ratio is currently 1.56. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. UNH's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.29 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 232, putting it in the bottom 9% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) closed at $507.02 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.76% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 1.24% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.23%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.15%.
Coming into today, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had gained 3.79% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 0.3%, while the S&P 500 lost 2.45%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from UnitedHealth Group as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, UnitedHealth Group is projected to report earnings of $5.39 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 1.51%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $78.55 billion, up 11.89% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $21.70 per share and revenue of $319.21 billion, which would represent changes of +14.09% and +10.99%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for UnitedHealth Group. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. UnitedHealth Group is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, UnitedHealth Group is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 22.97. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.36.
Meanwhile, UNH's PEG ratio is currently 1.56. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. UNH's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.29 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 232, putting it in the bottom 9% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.