UNH - UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
| Previous close | 255.83 |
| Open | 256.11 |
| Bid | 268.76 x 800 |
| Ask | 269.02 x 900 |
| Day's range | 255.36 - 275.57 |
| 52-week range | 208.07 - 287.94 |
| Volume | 9,932,110 |
| Avg. volume | 4,271,253 |
| Market cap | 255.234B |
| Beta (3Y monthly) | 0.61 |
| PE ratio (TTM) | 19.60 |
| EPS (TTM) | 13.75 |
| Earnings date | 13 Jan 2020 - 17 Jan 2020 |
| Forward dividend & yield | 4.32 (1.69%) |
| Ex-dividend date | 2019-12-06 |
| 1y target est | 287.08 |
- Bloomberg
Warren Maps 3-Year Timeline Toward Medicare for All; Stocks Rise
(Bloomberg) -- Elizabeth Warren said Friday her Medicare-for-All plan would be implemented over three years, a major concession to the difficulty of fundamentally changing the way Americans get health care. Managed-care and hospital stocks moved higher on the news.A Medium post Warren published Friday mapped out a strategy to enact a mandatory government-run health care system that she estimates would cost $20.5 trillion but others have tagged at more than $30 trillion.Warren said she would inch up to Medicare-for-all, starting with a plan to cover children and poor families. That would happen through a legislative maneuver in her first 100 days in the White House, while not actually eliminating private insurance plans until her third year in office.Health-care companies, which worried about extinction, rallied Friday, leading the S&P 500 Health Index to an all-time high. Among them, some of the nation’s largest insurers such as UnitedHealth Group Inc., Humana Inc., Anthem Inc. and Centene Corp. have climbed more than 5% in Friday’s trading.The advance in health care is a turnaround from the first nine months of the year, when the industry trailed most of its market peers over drug-pricing regulations and Medicare for All proposals.Even if Warren wins the White House and Democrats win control of both the House and Senate, Warren’s timeline is still optimistic, given how Congress operates.She said she would ask Congress to use a quirk in the budget process to allow a simple majority vote -- bypassing the 60-vote Senate threshold -- and “fast-track” a Medicare for All option that would immediately cover children under the age of 18 and families making less than $51,000 a year, and provide an option for expanded Medicare for people over 50.In the first three years, anyone else could buy into Medicare for All at a “modest” cost, Warren said, before it eventually became free.By her third year in office, Warren said, “the American people will have experienced the full benefits of a true Medicare for All option, and they can see for themselves how that experience stacks up against high-priced care that requires them to fight tooth-and-nail against their insurance company.”She added, “I won’t hand Mitch McConnell a veto over my health care agenda,” referring to the current Senate majority leader.After repeated questioning about how she would finance a government-run Medicare for All system that eliminates private insurance, Warren on Nov. 1 rolled out a $20.5 trillion proposal funded by taxing the rich and large corporations.Her gradual implementation “will give people time to adjust, people in the industry will have time to look for other jobs, pension plans will have time to start changing their portfolio and it will give the government time to gear up the bureaucracy,” said Gerald Friedman, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, who consulted on Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign on Medicare for All, the basis of Warren’s plan.The new proposal sets Warren apart from Sanders, who has said he wouldn’t compromise with incremental health-care changes.But Friedman cautioned that a long transition period could leave the private health insurance industry in shambles.“If you know that in three years your company is going to be wiped out, then it could create perverse incentives, staff start exiting and companies may become dysfunctional before the government program is set up,” Friedman said.Warren’s new proposal at least at first ends up looking much like that of her moderate rivals, Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg: Expanded government-run insurance without mandating it for everyone.Spokesmen for Biden and Buttigieg quickly weighed in.“Senator Warren is now trying to muddy the waters even further,” said deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield. “We’re not going to beat Donald Trump next year with double talk on health care.”Buttigieg spokeswoman Lis Smith said, “Senator Warren’s new health care ’plan’ is a transparently political attempt to paper over a very serious policy problem, which is that she wants to force 150 million people off their private insurance -- whether they like it or not.”Even if Democrats control the entire federal government in 2021, their best-case scenario is a narrow Senate majority that would likely leave Warren far short of the votes to pass Medicare for All. And several key Democrats have pledged not to eliminate the legislative filibuster. But the party is more united around the idea of a government-run insurance option.The budget fast-track process, known as reconciliation, has been used by majorities in both parties to avoid a filibuster. Democrats under President Barack Obama used it to pass Obamacare in 2010, while Republicans under President Donald Trump tried to use the procedure to repeal the health-care law in 2017 but came up short.“While Republicans tried to use fast-track budget reconciliation legislation to rip away health insurance from millions of people with just 50 votes in the Senate, I’ll use that tool in reverse – to improve our existing public insurance programs,” Warren wrote.Still, budget reconciliation creates complications as Senate rules require that such legislation be limited to changes involving taxes and spending. Republicans struggled to shoehorn their attempted repeal of Obamacare, which included regulatory reforms, into the process.Warren also vowed to take immediate action to lower drug prices in her first day as president, including insulin, EpiPens and drugs that save people from opioid overdoses. A Warren administration would help companies produce expensive medicines as a price-control measure and use administrative authority to ensure sufficient supply.(Updates with details in first, second, third paragraphs.)\--With assistance from Tatiana Darie.To contact the reporters on this story: Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou in Washington at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.net;Sahil Kapur in Washington at skapur39@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Investing.com
UnitedHealth Rises 4%
Investing.com - UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) rose by 4.03% to trade at $266.14 by 14:43 (19:43 GMT) on Friday on the NYSE exchange.
- Zacks
UnitedHealth (UNH) Up 7% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?
UnitedHealth (UNH) reported earnings 30 days ago. What's next for the stock? We take a look at earnings estimates for some clues.
- Zacks
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Mastercard, UnitedHealth, Merck, Qualcomm and CVS Health
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Mastercard, UnitedHealth, Merck, Qualcomm and CVS Health
- Bloomberg
Apple Co-Founder Says Goldman’s Apple Card Algorithm Discriminates
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., two of the most recognizable companies in tech and finance, are caught up in a growing debate over whether lenders unintentionally discriminate when they use complex models to determine how Americans borrow money.On Saturday, Bloomberg reported that a Wall Street regulator had opened a probe into Goldman’s credit card practices after a viral tweet from a tech entrepreneur alleged that the Apple Card’s algorithms discriminated against his wife.Now another high-profile user of the Apple Card -- Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak -- is calling for the government to get involved, citing excessive corporate reliance on mysterious technology.“These sorts of unfairnesses bother me and go against the principle of truth. We don’t have transparency on how these companies set these things up and operate,” Wozniak said in an interview on Sunday. “Our government isn’t strong enough on the issues of regulation. Consumers can only be represented by the government because the big corporations only represent themselves.”Wozniak said he can borrow 10 times as much as his wife on their Apple Cards even though they share bank and other credit card accounts, and that other lenders treat them equally.“Algos obviously have flaws,” Wozniak said. “A huge number of people would say, ‘We love our technology but we are no longer in control.’ I think that’s the case.”Lenders have promoted the models because they’re supposed to level the playing field among different borrowers by removing human error and focusing only on data.Apple Card only offers individual accounts and it is possible for two family members to receive significantly different credit decisions, a Goldman spokesman said. “In all cases, we have not and will not make decisions based on factors like gender,” he said.The investigation was launched in response to a series of Twitter posts from David Heinemeier Hansson that railed against the Apple Card for giving him 20 times the credit limit that his wife got. The tweets, many of which contain profanity, immediately gained traction online -- and a response on Twitter from Wozniak.Hansson didn’t disclose any specific income-related information for the couple but said they filed joint tax returns and that his wife has a better credit score than he does. Wozniak said he and his wife also file joint returns and share credit card and bank accounts.“The department will be conducting an investigation to determine whether New York law was violated and ensure all consumers are treated equally regardless of sex,” said a spokesman for Linda Lacewell, the superintendent of the NY DFS. “Any algorithm that intentionally or not results in discriminatory treatment of women or any other protected class of people violates New York law.”It’s the second such action in recent weeks from the regulator, which opened a probe against health-care giant UnitedHealth Group Inc. after a study found an algorithm favored white patients over black patients.“New technologies cannot leave certain consumers behind or entrench discrimination,” Lacewell said in a statement on Sunday. She also solicited complaints from aggrieved consumers on Twitter.Traditional lenders are increasing their use of machines to decide who gets how much credit as part of a strategy to reduce costs and boost loan applications. Meanwhile, technology companies are moving in on the financial services industry’s turf, with businesses such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google threatening banks’ lucrative business lines by offering loans and payment options.Congressional ScrutinyThe algorithms have drawn scrutiny in Congress. In June, the House Financial Services Committee heard about examples of algorithmic decision-making where researchers have found instances of bias targeting specific groups even when there was no intent to discriminate.Some lawmakers already are demanding a federal response. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and contender to challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, told federal regulators in June that the government “will have to take action to ensure that anti-discrimination laws keep up with innovation.”For Goldman, its growing ambitions for Main Street are bringing increased scrutiny and a new set of challenges it hasn’t faced previously. The Apple Card is a joint venture between Apple and the New York-based bank, which is responsible for all the credit decisions on the card. It was rolled out earlier this year -- the tech giant markets it as “created by Apple, not a bank” -- and executives at both firms hailed it as the most successful launch ever.Hansson said Goldman isn’t treating inadvertent bias seriously.“As soon as this became a PR issue, they immediately bumped up her credit limit without asking for any additional documentation,” he said of his wife in an interview Saturday. “My belief isn’t there was some nefarious person wanting to discriminate. But that doesn’t matter. How do you know there isn’t an issue with the machine-learning algo when no one can explain how this decision was made?”To contact the reporters on this story: Shahien Nasiripour in New York at snasiripour1@bloomberg.net;Sridhar Natarajan in New York at snatarajan15@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Josh Friedman, Matthew G. MillerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Yahoo Finance
For DaVita subsidiary Vively, it's not just about dialysis care
DaVita renamed its health solutions subsidiary to boost its efforts outside kidney care.
- Bloomberg
Viral Tweet About Apple Card Leads to Goldman Sachs Probe
(Bloomberg) -- A Wall Street regulator is opening a probe into Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s credit card practices after a viral tweet from a tech entrepreneur alleged gender discrimination in the new Apple Card’s algorithms when determining credit limits.A series of posts from David Heinemeier Hansson starting Thursday railed against the Apple Card for giving him 20 times the credit limit that his wife got. The tweets, many of which contain profanity, immediately gained traction online, even attracting comment from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.Hansson didn’t disclose any specific income-related information for either of them but said they filed joint tax returns and that his wife has a better credit score than he does.“The department will be conducting an investigation to determine whether New York law was violated and ensure all consumers are treated equally regardless of sex,” said a spokesman for Linda Lacewell, the superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services. “Any algorithm, that intentionally or not results in discriminatory treatment of women or any other protected class of people violates New York law.”Apple Card only offers individual accounts and it is possible for two family members to receive significantly different credit decisions, a Goldman spokesman said. “In all cases, we have not and will not make decisions based on factors like gender,” he said.Hansson said Goldman’s response doesn’t explain what happened after he started airing his issues on social media.“As soon as this became a PR issue, they immediately bumped up her credit limit without asking for any additional documentation,” he said in an interview. “My belief isn’t there was some nefarious person wanting to discriminate. But that doesn’t matter. How do you know there isn’t an issue with the machine-learning algo when no one can explain how this decision was made?”This is the second such action from the regulator in recent weeks. NY DFS opened a probe against health care giant UnitedHealth Group Inc. after a study found an algorithm favored white patients over black patients.Goldman’s growing ambitions for main street is bringing increased scrutiny and a new set of challenges it hasn’t faced previously. The Apple Card is a joint venture between Apple Inc. and the New York-based bank, which is responsible for all the credit decisions on the card. The card was rolled out earlier this year and executives at both firms hailed it as the most successful launch ever.Traditional lenders are upping their use of machines to decide who gets how much credit as part of a strategy to reduce costs and boost loan applications. Meanwhile, technology companies are moving in on the financial services industry’s turf, with businesses such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google offering loans and payment options.Black-Box AlgorithmsHansson said his posts had led to an internal review and that he was hopeful it would spark a conversation about black-box algorithms and the inherent biases in those systems.The 40-year-old Dane is known for being the creator of the popular programming tool Ruby on Rails. He’s a partner at Basecamp, a web-based software development firm, and also known to regularly take part in automobile endurance races, including the 24 hours of Le Mans in France.“Goldman and Apple are delegating credit assessment to a black box,” Hansson said. “It’s not a gender-discrimination intent but it is a gender-discrimination outcome.”The use of algorithms by lenders in credit decisions has drawn scrutiny in Congress. In June, the House Financial Services Committee heard about examples of algorithmic decision-making where researchers have found instances of bias targeting specific groups even when there was no intent to discriminate.Some lawmakers already are demanding a federal response. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and contender to challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, told federal regulators in June that the government “will have to take action to ensure that anti-discrimination laws keep up with innovation.(Updates with tweet from Steve Wozniak.)To contact the reporters on this story: Sridhar Natarajan in New York at snatarajan15@bloomberg.net;Shahien Nasiripour in New York at snasiripour1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Virginia Van Natta, Matthew G. MillerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
Top Analyst Reports for Mastercard, UnitedHealth & Merck
Top Analyst Reports for Mastercard, UnitedHealth & Merck
- Zacks
Genesis Healthcare's (GEN) Q3 Earnings Beat, Improve Y/Y
Genesis Healthcare's (GEN) third-quarter results reflect same store occupancy growth, partly offset by lower revenues.
- Simply Wall St.
The UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Share Price Is Up 162% And Shareholders Are Boasting About It
The worst result, after buying shares in a company (assuming no leverage), would be if you lose all the money you put...
- Zacks
Humana's (HUM) Q3 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Improve Y/Y
Humana's (HUM) third-quarter results reflect higher revenues as well as solid membership growth.
- Zacks
DaVita (DVA) Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates in Q3
DaVita (DVA) raises guidance for 2019 following impressive Q3 results.
- Zacks
Tenet Healthcare (THC) Q3 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates
Tenet Healthcare's (THC) third-quarter earnings gain from its Hospital and Other segment as well as volume growth.
- Yahoo Finance
Which Companies Recently Raised Guidance?
Third-quarter EPS season is in the homestretch, with blue-chip Utilities, Financial Services, Consumer and Industrial companies all releasing reports. Through 11/1/2019, Refinitiv reported that 356 S&P 500 companies have now announced 3Q earnings, with 76% coming in above consensus, ahead of the past four-quarters average percentage of 74%. The better-than-expected results have improved the overall forecast for the quarter to a -0.8%, from -3.2% at the start of the reporting season. Our analysts are always on the lookout for companies that raise their outlooks during earnings season. Management’s ability to “raise guidance” can often be a catalyst to strong returns in the quarters ahead. Following are 12 BUY-rated companies in Argus coverage for which management has raised guidance during the current EPS reporting season.
- Zacks
MEDNAX (MD) Q3 Earnings In Line With Estimates, Decline Y/Y
MEDNAX's (MD) results reflect escalating expenses in the third quarter.
- Zacks
Ensign Group's (ENSG) Q3 Earnings Miss Estimates, Rise Y/Y
Ensign Group's (ENSG) third-quarter earnings suffer escalating expenses.
- Zacks
Cigna (CI) Q3 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, View Up
Cigna (CI) Q3 results reflect higher revenues and membership from Express Scripts merger.
- Zacks
Community Health's (CYH) Q3 Loss Narrower Than Expected
Community Health's (CYH) third-quarter results reflect decreased admissions.
- Zacks
Molina Healthcare (MOH) Q3 Earnings Surpass, Increase Y/Y
Molina Healthcare's (MOH) third-quarter earnings benefit from lower expenses.
- Bloomberg
Medicare for All Odds Pegged Near ‘Zero’ at Cantor on High Cost
(Bloomberg) -- The latest report to grapple with how to finance a $30 trillion “Medicare for All” plan over the next decade further invigorated one of managed care’s biggest bulls, who sees the chances of the idea becoming a reality as “close to zero.”Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Steven Halper -- who rates 6 out of 7 health-insurer stocks he covers at the equivalent of buy -- said a recent report from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget think tank could force candidates to “soften their respective views on the issue.”Halper reminded clients in a note that Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren hasn’t disclosed plans on the funding of her push to implement universal health coverage, while Bernie Sanders says that taxes will rise to bolster his plan. Other 2020 candidates like Joe Biden have taken a “more centrist” view with support of the Affordable Care Act, he wrote.After a string of impressive earnings reports and worries related to Medicare for All have quieted, the S&P Supercomposite Managed Health Care Index has climbed to its highest since mid-August. The group rose as much as 2.4% Tuesday, led by gains in Anthem Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. The basket of 8 stocks still remains down more than 6% from a July peak, during a span when the S&P 500 advanced 1%.Halper said that while the budget watchdog group’s findings analyzed different vehicles for the government to finance universal care, “all of them are politically unpopular or not realistic.”To contact the reporter on this story: Bailey Lipschultz in New York at blipschultz@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Jeremy R. CookeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
HCA Healthcare (HCA) Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Improve Y/Y
HCA Healthcare's (HCA) third-quarter results gain traction from better revenues.
- Zacks
Universal Health's (UHS) Earnings Lag in Q3, Decline Y/Y
Universal Health's (UHS) third-quarter results are hurt by high operating expenses.
- Zacks
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Facebook, UnitedHealth, HSBC, PetroChina and Netflix
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Facebook, UnitedHealth, HSBC, PetroChina and Netflix
- Simply Wall St.
Have Insiders Sold UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Recently?
We wouldn't blame UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact...
