Back to top

Image: Bigstock

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

In the latest trading session, UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) closed at $492.59, marking a -0.21% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.93%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.56%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.71%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had gained 0.49% over the past month. This has outpaced the Medical sector's loss of 1.62% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 4.61% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from UnitedHealth Group as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $6.08, up 9.16% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $90.6 billion, up 12.78% from the year-ago period.

UNH's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $24.97 per share and revenue of $364.99 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +12.53% and +12.6%, respectively.

Investors should also note any 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. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.04% lower. UnitedHealth Group is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

In terms of valuation, UnitedHealth Group is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.77. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.81.

Investors should also note that UNH has a PEG ratio of 1.43 right now. 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. The Medical - HMOs industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.07 as of yesterday's close.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 183, which puts it in the bottom 28% 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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) - free report >>

Published in