MINNETONKA, Minn. (AP) — UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $3.62 billion.
On a per-share basis, the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company said it had profit of $3.65. Earnings, adjusted for pretax gains, were $2.59 per share.
The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.50 per share.
The largest U.S. health insurer posted revenue of $52.06 billion in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $51.52 billion.
UnitedHealth expects full-year earnings in the range of $12.30 to $12.60 per share.
UnitedHealth shares have risen roughly 4 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen 4 percent. The stock has increased 41 percent in the last 12 months.
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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 https://www.zacks.com/ap/UNH