Fact based stock research
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH)

US91324P1021

How to read the free ranks

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 57 (better than 57% of alternatives), show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 55), 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 57), above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 55), 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	57
Growth Rank	55
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.

14-Nov-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

Multiple opinions. One number.

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: UnitedHealth

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	36	58	58	57
GROWTH
GROWTH	58	75	49	55
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: 14-Nov-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Jun-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	57
GROWTH
GROWTH	58	75	49	55
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 57 (better than 57% 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 three out of four indicators below average for UnitedHealth. Only the metric dividend yield has an above-average rank, reflecting that dividend practices are expected to be higher than 85% of comparable companies, making the stock an attractive buy for dividend investors. However, dividend investors may get disappointed because all other critical financial indicators are below the market median: Price-to-Sales is 31 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 69% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning UnitedHealth's sales levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a rank of 41 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profit levels is higher than 59% of comparable companies. In addition, Price-to-Book (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 10 is also low. Compared with invested capital, the stock price is higher than for 90% of comparable investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 57, is a buy recommendation based on UnitedHealth's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Should dividend investors pick UnitedHealth? The company-reported financials speak against it. The company is expensive compared with revenue and invested capital levels, two reliable company size indicators. In addition, it currently has a low level of profits. How can future dividends be paid in the case that profits remain low? Dividend investors should choose UnitedHealth only if they reasonably expect the low current profit levels to be transitory. 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 essential 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	31
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	41	39	45	41
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	20	28	11	10
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	70	86	85	85
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	36	58	58	57

Last update of Value Rank: 14-Nov-2024. 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 55 (better than 55% 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 57 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 57% of its competitors. Capital Growth is also above 41% of competitors with a rank of 68. 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 41. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 55, 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	57
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	74	53	48	41
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	49	69	68
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	73	79	37	41
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	58	75	49	55

Last update of Growth Rank: 14-Nov-2024. 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 two out of three indicators above average for UnitedHealth. Leverage is at a rank of 56, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 56% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 82, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 82% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower 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. ...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. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for UnitedHealth. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. Investors may have a short-term debt challenge with UnitedHealth and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	49	46	50	56
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	19	17	17	17
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	61	74	85	82
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: 14-Nov-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for UnitedHealth.
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