UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 27.500-27.750 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 27.700. The company issued revenue guidance of -. UnitedHealth Group also updated its FY24 guidance to $27.50-27.75 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $571.30 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $584.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $532.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $527.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $608.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $615.16.

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.