UnitedHealth Earnings OK, Outlook Disappoints
ThinkstockUnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) reported third-quarter 2013 results before markets opened Thursday morning. The health insurance and benefits management firm posted diluted quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.53 on revenues of $30.6 billion. In the same period a…
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UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) reported third-quarter 2013 results before markets opened Thursday morning. The health insurance and benefits management firm posted diluted quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.53 on revenues of $30.6 billion. In the same period a year ago, UnitedHealth reported EPS of $1.50 on $30.4 billion in revenue. Third-quarter results also compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $1.53 on revenues of $30.78 billion.
The company cut its EPS outlook for the full year to a range of $5.40 to $5.50, just below the current consensus estimate of $5.51.
Enrollment growth year-to-date totals 4.35 million and includes gains in all major market categories. The consolidated medical care ratio rose 1.6% to 80.6% in the third quarter.
For the full year, the company forecasts revenues of $123 billion to $124 billion.
The company grew its Medicare and retirement revenues by 13% year-over-year to $11 billion in the quarter. The employer and individual insurance business slipped about 2.9% to $11.3 billion, and the company’s total Optum benefits management business grew 33% to $9.6 billion.
Shares were down more than 4% in the first 45 minutes of trading Thursday, at $72.10 in a 52-week range of $51.09 to $75.88. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $79.30 before the results were announced.
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
