UNH Stock is Down 44 in 2025 But This Analyst.jpeg
UNITEDHEALTH GROUP Inc Inc Photo -By Jetcityimage via Istock
Healthcare shares are usually seen as defensive plays, especially during uncertainty in the market, but even industrial giants are not immune to volatility. UNITEDHELHELHELH GROUP (UN), which was once considered a reliable column in the field of managed care, has suffered from more than 44 % shares in 2025. The sales process was provided with a mix of increased costs in the Medicare feature sector, sudden CEO, and the Federal Federal Vulture continuously in billing practices.
Despite these important opposite winds, Bernstein is a thunderbolt to the United Nations. The brokerage company recently named UNITEDHELTH is one of its “best choices” before the profits of the second quarter, noting its reduced evaluation and the ability to recover strong margins in the coming years. Bernstein also sees normalization in Medicaid and Medicare Advantage trends, and the profits of the United Nations are expected to double by 2029, with a 19 % annual growth rate of growth (CAGR).
For long -term investors who have value in chaos, here is the reason for the heavy weight that has been overcome at a “very attractive entry point”, according to Bernstein.
Its headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota, UNITEDHEALTH GROUP (UN) is a varied company of health care and insurance that works through two main parts: UNITEDHEALTHCARE, which provides health benefits; And OPTUM, which provides health care and technology services. The company is proud of the market capital of about $ 255.9 billion.
The United Nations has endured a difficult year, as its shares decreased by about 44 % on an annual basis – as the performance of the S&P 500 ($ SpX), which has gained 7.3 % significantly. This performance was weak, driven by many opposite winds, including high medical care costs, disappointing profits, the amount of reporting the investigations of the Ministry of Justice, electronic attack, and the resignation of the sudden CEO.
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After the sharp sale, the United Nations evaluation is “greatly depressed”, according to Bernstein. The rate of price to the front is 13.95X – much lower than the average sector, and about 40 % discount on its 5 -year profit. Bernstein Lance Wilkes analyst believes that this is a major opportunity to purchase United Nations shares.
Separately, valuable investors will notice that stocks give 3.13 % at the current levels, providing strong income capabilities.
Looking forward, the United Nations is expected to report the second quarter profits before the open on July 29. Analysts see a decrease in the profitability of the stock about 25 % on an annual basis to about $ 4.94, with revenues of $ 111.59 billion on average. For the full year 2025, it is now expected that consensus profits are about $ 21.38 per share.
On April 17, UNITEDHELHELH GROUP reported that mixed results Q1 2025, which sparked a sharp sale as the high medical costs rose to profits. Revenue grew by 10 % year on an annual basis to $ 109.5 billion, but profits appeared. The amended arrow profit increased by $ 4.2 % to $ 7.20 – the company’s first profits missed since 2008, even with a sharp recovery of GAAP to $ 6.3 billion, compared to a loss of $ 1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
The higher medical costs are expected, especially in Medicare Advantage and after acute care, weighing margins. CEO Andrew Wigi admitted that the company did not lead as expected and take steps to address problems.
However, the free cash flow remained strong at $ 4.6 billion, and UNITEDHEALTH returned 5 billion dollars to shareholders through profits and re -purchases. The total number of monetary and short -term investments reached about 30.7 billion dollars, or 34.3 billion dollars, including marketable securities.
Bernstein Lance Wilkes analyst believes that the United Nations is to buy a contradictory value here, even when he reduced EPS expectations for the insurance company 2025 by 10 % to calculate the accumulation of reserves and high costs. However, Wilkes expects a sharp recovery in profits by 2026, projects that EPS can double from 2025 to 2029 with the normalization of use in Medicaid/Medicare and prices in government plans “stiff” to more typical levels. In other words, the margins of this weak quarter are seen as patrol.
Despite some discounts in recent prices, Wall Street is widely agreed with Bernstein’s bullish opinion. The arrow carries a “moderate purchase” classification, with an average price of 12 months of 358.29 dollars, indicating the upscale capabilities of about 25.6 % of the current levels.
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On the date of publication, Nauman Khan did not have positions (either directly or indirectly) in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article are only for media purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com