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UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Ascends But Remains Behind Market: Some Facts to Note

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UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) closed at $606.79 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.16% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.57% gain on the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.28%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.63%.

The largest U.S. health insurer's shares have seen an increase of 7.18% over the last month, surpassing the Medical sector's loss of 3.14% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.15%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of UnitedHealth Group in its upcoming earnings disclosure. In that report, analysts expect UnitedHealth Group to post earnings of $6.74 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 9.42%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $101.71 billion, indicating a 7.71% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $27.61 per share and a revenue of $401.27 billion, representing changes of +9.91% and +7.98%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for UnitedHealth Group. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.01% downward. UnitedHealth Group presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, UnitedHealth Group is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 21.95. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 17.94.

Meanwhile, UNH's PEG ratio is currently 1.78. 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. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Medical - HMOs industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.38.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 63, positioning it in the top 25% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in 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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