The most recent trading session ended with UnitedHealth Group (UNH) standing at $524.70, reflecting a -0.07% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.23%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.91%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.1%.
The largest U.S. health insurer's stock has climbed by 6.4% in the past month, exceeding the Medical sector's loss of 10.2% and the S&P 500's loss of 12.13%.
The upcoming earnings release of UnitedHealth Group will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on April 17, 2025. The company is expected to report EPS of $7.27, up 5.21% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $111.01 billion, up 11.24% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $29.73 per share and a revenue of $451.2 billion, demonstrating changes of +7.48% and +12.72%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for UnitedHealth Group. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.31% higher. UnitedHealth Group is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
In the context of valuation, UnitedHealth Group is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 17.66. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.19, so one might conclude that UnitedHealth Group is trading at a premium comparatively.
Meanwhile, UNH's PEG ratio is currently 1.42. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Medical - HMOs was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.16 at yesterday's closing price.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 156, positioning it in the bottom 38% 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.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
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UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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