Short Interest in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Drops By 18.8%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,430,000 shares, a decrease of 18.8% from the November 30th total of 7,920,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on UNH. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 target price (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.84.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 600.0% in the 2nd quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock traded down $1.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $509.99. The stock had a trading volume of 3,471,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,101,650. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $469.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $565.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $560.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. 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 previous year, the company earned $6.56 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

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.