UnitedHealth Group (UNH) closed the most recent trading day at $305.75, moving +1.68% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.11%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 1.19%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 1.43%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had gained 1.73% lagged the Medical sector's gain of 2.14% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.92%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of UnitedHealth Group in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on July 29, 2025. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $5.16, showcasing a 24.12% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $111.93 billion, up 13.23% from the year-ago period.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $22.28 per share and a revenue of $449.46 billion, representing changes of -19.45% and +12.29%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for UnitedHealth Group should also be noted by investors. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 2.64% lower within the past month. UnitedHealth Group is currently a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
From a valuation perspective, UnitedHealth Group is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.5. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 13.08, so one might conclude that UnitedHealth Group is trading at a premium comparatively.
One should further note that UNH currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.41. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Medical - HMOs industry was having an average PEG ratio of 0.96.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 165, this industry ranks in the bottom 33% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.
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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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