We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Beginner Stocks To Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) stands against the other beginner stocks.
While investing in the stock market carries risk, the US stock market is generally considered a safe place to invest. It has a long history of growth and has consistently recovered from downturns, including major recessions and financial crises.
Over the last four to five years, the market has been hit by several unexpected downturns, due to a global pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, among other things, that crippled the global economy. However, the US broader market recovered swiftly and has been performing well since 2023. It is nearly 19% up year-to-date, as of August 23.
Nevertheless, it is still a complicated place for beginners and they should consider investing in shares of well-established companies with a history of stable performance and reliability. These stocks typically belong to large, financially sound companies that operate in diverse industries, such as technology, consumer goods, and healthcare.
Additionally, beginners can also look into index funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track major market indices like the S&P 500. These options offer diversification, which reduces the risk associated with investing in individual stocks while still providing exposure to the broader market’s potential gains. Investing in such well-established and diversified assets can help beginners build confidence and knowledge in the stock market. For such ETFs, you can check out our article on the best large-cap growth ETFs.
Opportunities and Caution for New Investors Due to Consumer Behaviour
On August 16, Melissa Minkow, director of retail strategy at CI&T, discussed the latest trends in U.S. consumer spending in a CNBC interview. Despite concerns about a potential recession, Minkow believes we might have avoided one. She pointed out that although consumers may feel like they are in a recession, their spending habits show otherwise. They continue to spend, especially when presented with discounts. Retailers have adapted by offering more targeted promotions this year, which has helped maintain consumer spending despite previous challenges like the pandemic and supply chain issues.
Minkow also noted that the effectiveness of promotions can vary across sectors. For example, quick-service restaurants like McDonald’s and Starbucks haven’t seen the same benefits from discounts as other retailers, partly because consumers may opt for more cost-effective alternatives like home-cooked meals. Additionally, brands that are already positioned as discount options might not see as much impact from promotions. However, retailers who offer significant discounts on desirable items can attract cost-conscious shoppers and increase sales volume, potentially offsetting the impact on profit margins.
For beginner investors in the stock market, the current retail sector dynamics offer both opportunities and challenges. The resilience of consumer spending, even in the face of economic uncertainty, suggests that certain sectors and companies could continue to perform well, especially those that effectively use promotions to drive sales. Retailers offering targeted discounts on popular items may attract more customers, boosting their sales volumes, which could lead to positive stock performance.
However, beginner investors should also be cautious. Not all companies benefit equally from promotions, as seen with the restaurant and food segment, where discounts haven’t significantly improved earnings. This highlights the importance of understanding the specific business models and market positioning of companies before investing.
The Market is Healthy but Caution is Advised
The U.S. stocks have seen a significant surge over the last few quarters, which are mainly driven by strong economic data and optimism about a potential soft landing for the U.S. economy. However, experts remain cautious as we discussed in our best defensive stocks article.
In the article, we discussed the J.P. Morgan report that noted the market’s heavy reliance on large, high-quality tech and AI companies, and it warned that maintaining this momentum could be challenging due to high valuations and potential market volatility. Here is an excerpt from the article:
“According to a July report by J.P Morgan, recent market trends have benefited large, high-quality companies, especially in tech and AI, which have resulted in high market concentration. However, maintaining this momentum in the second half of 2024 could be difficult due to high valuations and investor positioning. The report says that while U.S. market volatility is currently low, it could rise if conditions change.
According to Bruce Kasman, global growth is steady at 2.4%, with improved recoveries in Western Europe and emerging markets, along with a rebound in the manufacturing sector. Despite this, core global inflation is projected to remain around 3% in 2024, which could limit the potential for policy easing. Kasman warned that achieving inflation control and rate normalization might weaken demand and could interact with political factors to cause further inflation and central bank tightening.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we used stock screeners to identify large to mega-cap stocks with a revenue compound annual growth rate of at least 5% over the last 10 years. The companies we chose are well-known, well-established, fundamentally strong, and some also pay regular dividends. We listed the companies in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the second quarter of 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A senior healthcare professional giving advice to a patient in a clinic.
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 114
10-year Revenue CAGR: 11.83%
One of the best beginner stocks to buy now, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is a Minnesota-based multinational company specializing in health insurance and services. The company operates through four key segments, UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment focuses on providing a broad range of health plans and services, including coverage for large employers, Medicare, and retirement-related services.
The Optum segment is divided into several areas. Optum Health delivers a variety of technology-enabled services that focus on improving patient care and supporting healthcare providers across various settings, whether in person, at home, or through virtual channels.
Optum Insight offers data analytics and insights to enhance clinical operations and drive efficiency. Meanwhile, Optum Rx manages a comprehensive network of medical, pharmacy, and behavioral care services, which includes specialty pharmacies.
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) stands as a leading force in the managed care sector, serving a large membership base both domestically and internationally. As the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans and one of the biggest health insurers in the U.S., the company’s diversified approach spans various product lines, geographical regions, and customer types.
In the second quarter, it reported revenue of $98.9 billion, a 6.5% increase from the previous year. The company saw strong growth in its Optum divisions, with Optum Rx and Optum Health both achieving revenue increases of 13%, reaching $32 billion and $27 billion, respectively. The healthcare benefits segment also expanded, adding 2.3 million members to reach a total of 29.6 million.
Additionally, the company’s strong financial position is strong as evidenced by its cash flows from operations, which were $6.7 billion for the quarter. The company ended the period with over $31 billion in cash and short-term investments.
On July 17, Argus analyst David Toung raised the price target on UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) to $600 from $570 and kept a Buy rating. The analyst mentioned that despite facing challenges such as a temporary cyberattack affecting its claims processing network, the company continues to show resilience.
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) was held by 114 hedge funds in the second quarter and the stakes amounted to $12.535 billion. Fisher Asset Management is the biggest shareholder of the company and has a position worth $1.57 billion as of Q2.
Invesco Growth and Income Fund stated the following regarding UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH): Like many managed care providers, United Health has come under pressure from rising medical costs and higher-than-expected utilization. The stock is currently undervalued based on our analysis. We view the company as a high-quality compounder with secular growth opportunities in the managed care segment. The US Presidential election may cause additional near-term uncertainty, but we believe United Health will be able to rebound once pricing and utilization issues normalize.”
Overall UNH ranks 7th on our list of the best beginner stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of UNH as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than UNH but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
Read Next: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA ‘Has Become A Wasteland’.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
