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UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Ascends While Market Falls: Some Facts to Note

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The most recent trading session ended with UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) standing at $587.13, reflecting a +0.45% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.32%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.16%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.85%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the largest U.S. health insurer had gained 2.6% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's gain of 5.14% and outpaced the S&P 500's gain of 1.52% in that time.

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 $7.05, showcasing a 7.47% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $99.19 billion, up 7.39% from the year-ago period.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $27.69 per share and a revenue of $398.84 billion, representing changes of +10.23% and +7.32%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for UnitedHealth Group. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.03% increase. Right now, UnitedHealth Group possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at valuation, UnitedHealth Group is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 21.11. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.19.

We can additionally observe that UNH currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.63. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Medical - HMOs industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.42 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 227, this industry ranks in the bottom 11% of all industries, numbering over 250.

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.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.


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