Q1 Earnings Estimate for UNH Issued By Leerink Partnrs

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Investment analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report issued on Tuesday, May 13th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings per share of $7.70 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $8.32. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $29.54 per share.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on UNH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $486.00.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 6.2%

NYSE UNH opened at $291.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $470.82 and its 200-day moving average is $513.95.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 35.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors 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.