UnitedHealth Group (UNH) closed the most recent trading day at $393.06, moving -1.94% from the previous trading session. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.48% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.77%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.64%.
Heading into today, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had lost 0.34% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 0.11% and outpacing the S&P 500's loss of 0.97%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of UnitedHealth Group in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $4.03, showcasing a 38.01% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $111.38 billion, showing a 1.57% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.
UNH's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $19.82 per share and revenue of $446.78 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +21.22% and -0.18%, respectively.
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. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.57% higher within the past month. UnitedHealth Group is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
In terms of valuation, UnitedHealth Group is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 20.23. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 23.33 of its industry.
Also, we should mention that UNH has a PEG ratio of 1.51. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Medical - HMOs was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.51 at yesterday's closing price.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 24, placing it within the top 10% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within 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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