UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $543.42, but opened at $530.35. UnitedHealth Group shares last traded at $529.92, with a volume of 1,290,737 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $551.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $562.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $469.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.