UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider

Group 1 - UnitedHealth Group (UNH) closed at $341.30, with a +1.37% increase, outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 0.44% [1] - The stock has gained 9.52% over the past month, while the Medical sector and S&P 500 gained 1.25% and 4.03%, respectively [1] Group 2 - UnitedHealth Group's upcoming earnings report is expected to show earnings of $2.87 per share, a year-over-year decline of 59.86%, with revenue projected at $113.54 billion, a 12.61% increase [2] - For the entire year, earnings are forecasted at $16.21 per share and revenue at $448.87 billion, reflecting changes of -41.4% and +12.14% compared to the previous year [3] Group 3 - Recent revisions to analyst forecasts for UnitedHealth Group are important as they indicate changing near-term business trends, with positive revisions seen as a good sign for the business outlook [4] - The Zacks Rank system, which considers estimate changes, currently ranks UnitedHealth Group at 5 (Strong Sell), with the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate having decreased by 1.27% in the past month [5][6] Group 4 - UnitedHealth Group has a Forward P/E ratio of 20.77, which is a premium compared to the industry average of 14.87, and a PEG ratio of 2.17, while the Medical - HMOs industry has an average PEG ratio of 1.29 [7] - The Medical - HMOs industry is ranked 234 in the Zacks Industry Rank, placing it within the bottom 6% of over 250 industries, indicating weaker performance compared to higher-ranked industries [8]