Opinions David Burrows
UnitedHealth Group IncUNHTOP PICKJul 11, 2013
David BurrowsStock price when the opinion was issued
As of Sep 25, 2026. Market Open.
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He's bought and sold this over 15 years. Now, earnings are closer to a trough than a peak, and analysts guided up after their last report.
Kevin Simpson
Costs are still running high. He still owns as part of a diversified healthcare allocation, but he's neutral on whether it's the best place for new $$. Over time, will probably give you 10-11% per year (decent compounding, but not a top pick idea).
Dan Rohinton
(Note the shortish timeframe.) Bumpy road. Biggest weight on stock has been Trump administration's proposal to essentially flatten (increase of 0.1%) Medicare Advantage rates in 2027. That miniscule increase combined with medical cost inflation really puts pressure on.
Trying to prioritize margins over growth. Insurance products will be repriced next year, should see better growth in topline and bottom line.
He owns CVS instead, and a third of their business is health insurance, which 100% of UNH's business. The problem with US healthcare is all the news coming out of Washington. A lot of their business is dictated by the whims of one or two people in the U.S. Still a good business, but is a little speculative.
Healthcare, as a group, tends to be one of the best performing parts of the market. This is because there is a heavy domestic focus on the US and also it is not so economically sensitive. There is a secular bull market in spending on health in the US. 90% of this company’s revenue is coming from premiums on the plans that they sell. 3%-7% growth. Yield of 1.64%. They have a platform called Optum (?), an information services platform that they used to generate fees across a number of different businesses. Cash flow grew at 16% last year and this year will be at 29% of revenues and by 2015 it will be 40% of their revenues.