Are You Expecting This from UnitedHealth Group?

Updated

UnitedHealth Group (NYS: UNH) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 18. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict UnitedHealth Group's revenues will increase 11.9% and EPS will decrease -1.6%.

The average estimate for revenue is $30.52 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.25.


Revenue details
Last quarter, UnitedHealth Group recorded revenue of $30.34 billion. GAAP reported sales were 11% higher than the prior-year quarter's $27.28 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, EPS came in at $1.16. GAAP EPS of $1.16 for Q1 were 11% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.31 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 25.6%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 7.1%, 140 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.9%, 120 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $122.86 billion. The average EPS estimate is $5.45.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 3,306 members out of 3,459 rating the stock outperform, and 153 members rating it underperform. Among 1,048 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,034 give UnitedHealth Group a green thumbs-up, and 14 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on UnitedHealth Group is buy, with an average price target of $65.92.

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The article Are You Expecting This from UnitedHealth Group? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool recommends UnitedHealth Group and recommends the following options:long January 01 2014 $40 calls on UnitedHealth Group. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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