UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Advances While Market Declines: Some Information for Investors

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) closed the most recent trading day at $307.70, moving +1.31% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.07% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.37%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.03%.

Shares of the largest U.S. health insurer have appreciated by 0.17% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Medical sector's loss of 1.3%, and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 3.94%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of UnitedHealth Group in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on July 29, 2025. In that report, analysts expect UnitedHealth Group to post earnings of $5.08 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 25.29%. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $111.86 billion, indicating a 13.16% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $21.85 per share and a revenue of $449.46 billion, signifying shifts of -21.01% and +12.29%, respectively, from the last year.

It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for UnitedHealth Group. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable 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. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 2.81% lower. UnitedHealth Group currently has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

In terms of valuation, UnitedHealth Group is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.9. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 13.02.

It is also worth noting that UNH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.45. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Medical - HMOs industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.86 as of yesterday's close.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 91, which puts it in the top 37% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.

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UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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