Opinions
Gordon Reid
UnitedHealth Group Inc
UNH-N
HOLD
Dec 17, 2024
Stock price when the opinion was issued
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He bought some yesterday. Didn't change guidance. Q4 profitability was OK, though revenue was a bit light. Health insurance in US will continue to grow, it's a leader. Core holding for him. Great distribution system, so cost is less than peers. Trump administration will not nationalize healthcare.
It is integral to the systematic delivery of health care across the U.S. and is a leader in well vertically integrated companies. There are some headwinds which he thinks will dissipate. He likes the longer term prospects and is seeing the development of per capita growth.
Buy 29 Hold 1 Sell 0
Yes. It was a top pick of his last spring. He doesn't think there will be much negative impact from Washington investigating their billing practices, though there remains headline risk. Fundamentals are improving, though they are paying out more for medical costs, which he hopes will normalize. It's trading below the market PE, when usually it trades above.
Leader in the space. Trades at 16x forward PE, 11% growth. Last 5 years, earnings have growth 12% a year. 200-day MA trending higher, but price is a bit below that, so technical signals are neutral. Integrated model strong. Pricing power. Down 24% from recent highs on regulatory concerns, overdone.
The entire US health insurance group is embroiled in a controversy that was unfortunately set off by the murder of UNH, specifically talk about how claims are treated at UNH. These stocks are falling, but hang on and let this pass and see how different parties react. There will always be a place for health insurance companies in the US.