UnitedHealth Group posts 1Q profit, results top Wall Street forecasts

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) on Thursday reported first-quarter profit of $1.41 billion.

On a per-share basis, the Minneapolis-based company said it had net income of $1.46.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.33 per share.

The largest U.S. health insurer posted revenue of $35.76 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Eleven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $34.73 billion.

UnitedHealth expects full-year earnings to be $6.15 to $6.30 per share, with revenue expected to be $143 billion.

UnitedHealth shares have risen 16 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased slightly more than 2 percent. The stock has increased 48 percent in the last 12 months.

_____

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on UNH at http://www.zacks.com/ap/UNH

_____

Keywords: UnitedHealth Group, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings