Is UnitedHealth Poised for a Turnaround After Q1?
UnitedHealth was the second-worst performer among the Dow Jones industrials this year. But with everything seemingly going the right way now, is it poised for a turnaround?
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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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Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.
His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.
When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.
