Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its target price lifted by Mizuho from $300.00 to $430.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock. Mizuho’s price target indicates a potential upside of 21.37% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on UNH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $198.00 target price (down from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.09.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $354.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $320.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $318.21 and its 200 day moving average is $350.41. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,892 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 217.0% in the 3rd quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 2,232 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,340 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,189,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Tlwm lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tlwm now owns 2,836 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, CWC Advisors LLC. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 66.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 7,277 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,513,000 after acquiring an additional 2,907 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.