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Research Alert: CFRA Maintains Hold Rating On Shares Of Unitedhealth Group Inc.

-- CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We raise our 12-month price target to $385 from $335, 21.1x our 2026 EPS estimate (up to $18.25 from $17.86; 2027 estimate up $0.02 to $20.12), a small premium to UNH's five-year historical forward average of 20.3x, justified by our expectations of steady earnings improvement in the near term from the company's turnaround efforts. UNH's share repurchase activity (at least $2B anticipated by the end of Q2) supported a Q1 EPS beat, and management signaled further buybacks ahead, as the share price remains over 40% below all-time highs in late 2024 despite an over 35% rally since March 27. We expect medical cost trends will remain elevated in the near term despite some improvement in comparable results (MCR of 83.9% vs. 84.8% in Q1 2025). Though consolidated operating margin dipped to ~8.1% from 8.3% in the prior-year quarter, we note an encouraging 40 bps of margin expansion for the UnitedHealthcare (insurance) segment to 6.6% in Q1.

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