May 25, 2023
Top 10 Stock UnitedHealth Strong Buy Recommendation
How to read the 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.
Snapshot: UnitedHealth – Top 10 Stock in Employee Satisfaction Leaders in the United States
UnitedHealth is listed as a top 10 stock on May 25, 2023 in the market index Employee Focus US because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. As all consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, including positive market sentiment in the professional investor community, it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is limited. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 88 (top 88% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall strong buy recommendation for UnitedHealth on May 25, 2023.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| 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 |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° Assessment UnitedHealth Strong Buy
| 360 METRICS | May 25, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 64 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 55 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 52 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 100 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 88 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 88 (better than 88% compared with alternatives) for 2022, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock UnitedHealth are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all four indicators above average for UnitedHealth. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 64, which means that the share price of UnitedHealth is on the lower side compared with typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is lower than for 64% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 55, which means that the company experiences above-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth as well as stock returns. The company is also safely financed with a Safety rank of 52. Finally, professional market sentiment is above average compared with other stock investment alternatives with a Sentiment Rank of 100. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a 360° View of 88, UnitedHealth is better than 88% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As all consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, such as good value (Value Rank of 64), above-average growth (Growth Rank of 55), an indication that the company is safely financed (Safety Rank of 52) and positive market sentiment in the professional investor community (Sentiment Rank of 100), it is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is limited and disappointments are less likely to occur, unless information not publicly available. High-Value Ranks sometimes indicate that the company's future is challenging. If they are safely financed and have above average growth, and are still a good value, it may indicate that this will not continue. We recommend evaluating whether the future of UnitedHealth is as difficult as the stock’s low price, despite what good growth and safe financing practice suggest. Since the professional community is optimistic, you might have less to worry about, and the stock is just not sufficiently visible, which may indicate good timing right now. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for UnitedHealth very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 100 (better than 100% compared with alternatives) for 2022, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock UnitedHealth is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all four indicators above average for UnitedHealth. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 74 (better than 74% of alternative investments), which means that, currently, stock research analysts tend to recommend a stock investment in the company. Analyst Opinions Change is also positive with a rank of 68, which means that stock research experts are changing their opinions for the better and recommending investing in the company. They are getting more optimistic about stock investments in UnitedHealth. The Professional Investors rank is 100, which means that currently, professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 100% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Finally, Market Pulse has a rank of 91 which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are on the positive side when discussing this company (more positive news than for 91% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 100 (more positive than 100% compared with investment alternatives), UnitedHealth has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. Since all market sentiment indicators are positive, the professional community highly recommends investment in the company. Does this mean UnitedHealth stocks are a safe investment? Far from it. Even professionals make mistakes. Especially in stock investing, there is a tendency to follow the leaders. Since trees don't grow to the heavens, such positive sentiment may also be interpreted as a danger sign. A lot of optimism can often be a sign of troubles to come, albeit unforeseen by most. ...read more
Value Strategy: UnitedHealth Stock Price Value better than average
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 64 (better than 64% 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 41 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 59% 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 43 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profit levels is higher than 57% of comparable companies. In addition, Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with an Price-to-Book Rank of 19 is also low. Compared with invested capital, the stock price is higher than for 81% of comparable investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 64, 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. ...read more
Growth Strategy: UnitedHealth Growth Momentum good
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 all four indicators above average for UnitedHealth. Sales Growth has a value of 54, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 54% of its competitors. The same is valid for Profit Growth with a value of 50 and for Capital Growth with 59. In addition, Stock Returns had an above-average rank value of 57, which means they have been higher than 57% of comparable investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 55, is a BUY recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Since all Growth Ranks are positive, UnitedHealth exhibits above-average growth momentum. This could be due to a uniquely strong market position, proprietary technology, or an extensive corporate acquisition strategy. Growth investors will find this an attractive investment opportunity, unless they expect that the current phase is transitory and will deteriorate in the future, or if the current performance is only a temporary recovery from a very low point in the company's history, such as a turn-around. In the case of a turn-around situation, the current performance is a positive indicator that the company is on the right track. ...read more
Safety Strategy: UnitedHealth Debt Financing Safety above-average
| SAFETY METRICS | May 25, 2023 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 48 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 17 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 87 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 52 |
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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 87, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 87% 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 48, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 52% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With an Obermatt 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 usuallyl 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. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: UnitedHealth Top Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | May 25, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 64 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 55 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 87 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 82 |
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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 Obermatt Value Rank of 64 (better than 64% 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: An Obermatt 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 64), 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. ...read more
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