UnitedHealth Group (UNH) closed the most recent trading day at $282.34, moving -2.64% from the previous trading session. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.04%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.66%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.13%.
Heading into today, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had lost 18.6% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 0.7% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.75%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of UnitedHealth Group in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $6.76, signifying a 6.11% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $110.58 billion, up 0.91% from the year-ago period.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $17.69 per share and a revenue of $440.43 billion, representing changes of +8.2% and -1.59%, respectively, from the prior year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for UnitedHealth Group. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. 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. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.38% higher. UnitedHealth Group currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
From a valuation perspective, UnitedHealth Group is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.4. This denotes no noticeable deviation relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 16.4.
It is also worth noting that UNH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.33. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. UNH's industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.97 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 225, placing it within the bottom 9% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. 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.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
