Is UnitedHealth Poised for a Turnaround After Q1?

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By Chris Lange Updated Published
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Is UnitedHealth Poised for a Turnaround After Q1?

© Courtesy of UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH | UNH Price Prediction) reported its first-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Tuesday. Prior to the release of this report, this firm was the second-worst performer (−7.6%) among the Dow Jones industrials in 2019. With everything seemingly going the right way now, is UnitedHealth poised for a turnaround?

The health insurance giant said that it had $3.73 in earnings per share (EPS) and $60.31 billion in revenue for the quarter. That compares with consensus estimates of $3.59 in EPS and $59.71 billion in revenue, as well as the $3.04 per share and $55.19 billion posted in the same period of last year.

In the first quarter, UnitedHealth’s revenues grew 9.3%, or $5.1 billion, year over year, led by UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement, OptumRx and OptumHealth.

In terms of its segments, UnitedHealth reported as follows:

  • Employer & Individual revenues increased $670 million to $14.1 billion year over year.
  • Medicare & Retirement revenues grew by $2.2 billion, or 11.5%, to $21.1 billion.
  • Community & State revenues grew $511 million, or 4.8%, to $11.2 billion.
  • Global revenues grew $85 million, or 3.5%, to $2.5 billion.
  • OptumHealth revenues grew $1.0 billion, or 16.6%, to $6.7 billion.
  • OptumInsight revenues grew 5.8% to $2.2 billion
  • OptumRx revenues increased $1.7 billion, or 10.6%, to $17.8 billion.

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Looking ahead to the 2019 full year, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $14.50 to $14.75. Consensus estimates call for $14.65 in EPS and $244.36 billion in revenue for the year.

David S. Wichmann, CEO of UnitedHealth, commented:

Our employees’ shared vision of improving the health of the people we serve and the performance of health systems for everyone is producing value for society and driving consistent growth for our businesses.

Shares of UnitedHealth closed Monday at $230.20, in a 52-week range of $220.77 to $287.94. The consensus price target is $306.39. Following the announcement, the stock was up about 3% at $237.10 in early trading indications Tuesday.
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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.

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