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Jan 16, 2019
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UnitedHealth Beat the Street on Q4 Earnings

UnitedHealth Beat the Street on Q4 Earnings

UnitedHealth's Q4 earnings handily beat street expectations on its Q4 earning an adjusted $3.28 per share, eight cents better than analysts were expecting.

The Indianapolis-based company's Optum segment helped with the results. Operating earnings for that business grew about $0.23 per cent to $2.7 billion. Optum runs a large pharmacy benefit management business and a growing number of clinics and urgent care and surgery centres. United's insurance business was flat with operating earnings of $1.8 billion. Total revenue of $58.42 billion also topped the $57.94 billion expected on Wall Street. For the full year, UnitedHealth earned nearly $12 billion on $226 billion in revenue. Total enrolment grew 5% in 2018 to 49 million people.

 

Related Ticker: UNH

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Financial analyst and market blogger with expertise in equity research, fundamental analysis, and macroeconomic trends. I regularly publish coverage on individual stocks, ETFs, and sector developments — combining rigorous financial analysis with clear, engaging writing for a broad investment audience.


Momentum Indicator for UNH turns negative, indicating new downward trend

UNH saw its Momentum Indicator move below the 0 level on November 02, 2026. This is an indication that the stock could be shifting in to a new downward move. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 83 similar instances where the indicator turned negative. In 55 of the 83 cases, the stock moved further down in the following days. The odds of a decline are at 66%.

Price Prediction Chart

Technical Analysis (Indicators)

Bearish Trend Analysis

The 10-day RSI Indicator for UNH moved out of overbought territory on October 23, 2026. This could be a bearish sign for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 35 similar instances where the indicator moved out of overbought territory. In 17 of the 35 cases, the stock moved lower in the following days. This puts the odds of a move lower at 49%.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence Histogram (MACD) for UNH turned negative on November 02, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to turn lower in the coming weeks. Traders may want to sell the stock or buy put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 47 similar instances when the indicator turned negative. In 31 of the 47 cases the stock turned lower in the days that followed. This puts the odds of success at 66%.

Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where UNH declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 53%.

UNH broke above its upper Bollinger Band on October 20, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.

Bullish Trend Analysis

The Stochastic Oscillator is in the oversold zone. Keep an eye out for a move up in the foreseeable future.

UNH moved above its 50-day moving average on October 14, 2026 date and that indicates a change from a downward trend to an upward trend.

The 10-day moving average for UNH crossed bullishly above the 50-day moving average on October 19, 2026. This indicates that the trend has shifted higher and could be considered a buy signal. In 7 of 18 past instances when the 10-day crossed above the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 39%.

Following a +4.44% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where UNH advanced for three days, in 182 of 331 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 55%.

The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In 114 of 245 cases where UNH Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are 47%.

Fundamental Analysis (Ratings)

The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is 10 (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to outstanding earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.

The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is 44 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating fairly steady price growth. UNH’s price grows at a lower rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.

The Tickeron Valuation Rating of 55 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is fair valued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: P/B Ratio (3.687) is normal, around the industry mean (3.359). P/E Ratio (25.926) is within average values for comparable stocks, (126.681). Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (1.025) is also within normal values, averaging (0.786). UNH has a moderately high Dividend Yield (0.023) as compared to the industry average of (0.009). P/S Ratio (0.757) is also within normal values, averaging (0.569).

The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is 58 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating strong sales and a profitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.

The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is 90 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating that the returns do not compensate for the risks. UNH’s unstable profits reported over time resulted in significant Drawdowns within these last five years. A stable profit reduces stock drawdown and volatility. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 83, placing this stock worse than average.

Notable companies

The most notable companies in this group are Unitedhealth Group (NYSE:UNH), CVS HEALTH Corp (NYSE:CVS), Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV), Cigna Group (The) (NYSE:CI), Humana (NYSE:HUM), Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC).

Industry description

Managed healthcare industry focuses on providing health/medical and disability insurance plans, generally intended to reduce the cost of for-profit health care. The insurance products might be provided through employer-paid (fully or partly) insurance and benefit programs, or through Medicare/Medicaid. Some of the largest providers of managed health care include Aetna, Humana Inc., and Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare.

Market Cap

The average market capitalization across the Managed Health Care Industry is 68.09B. The market cap for tickers in the group ranges from 335.99K to 363.02B. UNH holds the highest valuation in this group at 363.02B. The lowest valued company is IHGP at 335.99K.

High and low price notable news

The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the Managed Health Care Industry was 4%. For the same Industry, the average monthly price growth was 7%, and the average quarterly price growth was 20%. PGNY experienced the highest price growth at 5%, while ALHC experienced the biggest fall at -8%.

Volume

The average weekly volume growth across all stocks in the Managed Health Care Industry was 37%. For the same stocks of the Industry, the average monthly volume growth was 29% and the average quarterly volume growth was -16%

Fundamental Analysis Ratings

The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows

Valuation Rating: 54
P/E Growth Rating: 40
Price Growth Rating: 36
SMR Rating: 72
Profit Risk Rating: 83
Seasonality Score: -16 (-100 ... +100)
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General Information

a provider of hospital and medical service plans

Industry ManagedHealthCare

Industry
Managed Health Care
Address
1 Health Drive
Phone
+1 800 328-5979
Employees
390000
Web
https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com
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