Fact based stock research
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH)

US91324P1021

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

UnitedHealth stock research in summary

unitedhealthgroup.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 82 (better than 82% compared with investment alternatives), UnitedHealth (Health Care Managed, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of UnitedHealth are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 67 (better than 67% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 51), and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 52), which means low debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 82, is a strong buy recommendation based on UnitedHealth's financial characteristics. As the company UnitedHealth's key financial metrics all exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 67), above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 51), and indicate that the company is safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 52), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the share is limited, unless the company has a bleak future. Such good financial performance can indicate that the company's future might actually be challenging, as it may be difficult to maintain the good performance. If they are safely financed and have been growing above average, and are still a good value, it means that the market is keeping prices low, for a reason which may become clearer over time. We recommend evaluating the future of UnitedHealth. If you believe the company's future is market-typical or even better, this could be an argument for a share purchase. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	67
Growth Rank	51
Safety Rank	52
Combined Rank	82

Country	USA
Industry	Health Care Managed
Index	Dow Jones, Dividends USA, Employee Focus US, Diversity USA, D.J. US Health Care, S&P 500
Size class	XX-Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

23-Jan-2025. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

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Research History: UnitedHealth

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	36	58	58	67
GROWTH
GROWTH	58	75	49	51
SAFETY
SAFETY	37	52	52	52
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	95	90	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	95	88	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 23-Jan-2025. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better UnitedHealth is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	36	58	58	67
GROWTH
GROWTH	58	75	49	51
SAFETY
SAFETY	37	52	52	52
COMBINED
COMBINED	23	82	82	82

Last update of combined financial performance: 10-Nov-2022. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of UnitedHealth the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 67 (better than 67% compared with alternatives), UnitedHealth shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for UnitedHealth. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 50 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 50% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning UnitedHealth's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 23, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 23% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 59% of alternatives (only 41% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 13% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 67, is a buy recommendation based on UnitedHealth's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	30	43	41	41
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	41	39	45	50
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	20	28	11	23
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	70	86	85	87
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	36	58	58	67

Last update of Value Rank: 23-Jan-2025. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of UnitedHealth; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 51 (better than 51% compared with alternatives), UnitedHealth shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for UnitedHealth. Sales Growth has a rank of 63 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 63% of its competitors. Capital Growth is also above 41% of competitors with a rank of 50. But Profit Growth only has a rank of 41, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 59% of its competitors. And Stock Returns have also been below average with a rank of only 48. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 51, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Profits are sometimes low if the company invests in the future. The positive revenue and capital investment outlook confirms such an interpretation. Both revenues and capital are solid growth indicators, and lower profits in such a case would be encouraging. But the investors see it differently by punishing the share price. Sometimes, Mister Market is not very reliable, because it is not uncommon for it to be volatile. Investors should look out for signs of growth expenditure that could justify low profit growth, and they may also find reasons why recent stock price developments don't confirm the growth outlook of operations. While operating growth indicators are not perfect, they are more reliable indicators for future performance than stock prices that can repeatedly surprise investors. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is mixed here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	61	64	63	63
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	74	53	48	41
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	49	69	50
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	73	79	37	48
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	58	75	49	51

Last update of Growth Rank: 23-Jan-2025. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of UnitedHealth.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 52 (better than 52% compared with alternatives), the company UnitedHealth has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of UnitedHealth is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for UnitedHealth. Liquidity is at 71, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 71% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 17, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 83% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 42, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 58% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 52 (better than 52% compared with alternatives), UnitedHealth has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. High Leverage (a low Obermatt Leverage Rank) is good in good times, because it usually indicates that shareholders get higher returns. The good Liquidity performance of the company is an indicator that this is the case. However, if you expect an economic downturn, you may stay clear of this stock because they have an above-average debt level that needs refinancing soon. If the company is sailing with good winds, as may be visible from the Growth and Sentiment performance, the refinancing risk may be lower than the low Refinancing rank suggests. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	49	46	50	42
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	19	17	17	17
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	61	74	85	71
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	37	52	52	52

Last update of Safety Rank: 10-Nov-2022. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of UnitedHealth and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	61	62	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	50	50	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	89	82	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	98	95	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	95	90	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 23-Jan-2025. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for UnitedHealth.
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