What to Look For When UnitedHealth Reports on Tuesday Morning

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 11, 4:24PM EST · Published Oct 15, 1:30PM EDT

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What to Look For When UnitedHealth Reports on Tuesday Morning — © Courtesy of UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) is scheduled to report its third-quarter financial results before the markets open on Tuesday. Thomson Reuters consensus estimates call for $3.29 in earnings per share (EPS) and $56.34 billion in revenue. In the same period of last year, the company said it had EPS of $2.66 and $50.32 billion in revenue.

In the second quarter, UnitedHealthcare grew to serve 2.2 million more consumers year over year, with revenues growing by $5.1 billion, or 12.4%, to $45.8 billion. Revenue growth was driven by an increasing number of people served, a higher revenue membership mix and pricing increases to cover expected medical cost trends. Second-quarter 2018 earnings from operations grew 6.6% to $2.4 billion.

Based on first-half 2018 results and the business outlook for the balance of the year, the company raised its full-year guidance in the prior quarter. The company expected to see 2018 EPS in a range of $12.50 to $12.75 per share and cash flows from operations to approach $15.5 billion. The current consensus estimates call for $12.70 in EPS and $225.31 billion in revenue for the year.

UnitedHealth has outperformed the broad markets, with its shares up about 34% in the past 52 weeks. In just 2018 alone, the stock is up closer to 18%.

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A few analysts weighed in on UnitedHealth ahead of the report:

Barclays has an Overweight rating and a $280 price target.
Jefferies has a Buy rating with a $311 price target.
Raymond James has a Strong Buy rating with a $304 target.
Cowen has an Outperform rating with a $308 price target.
Citigroup has a Neutral rating with a $288 price target.
Morgan Stanley has an Overweight rating and a $305 target.

Shares of UnitedHealth were last seen at $261.53 on Monday, with a consensus analyst price target of $293.62 and a 52-week trading range of $191.36 to $272.07.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.