UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Rating Increased to Buy at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $595.00 target price on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

UNH has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $520.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $478.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $555.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $561.41.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

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.