UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 18% over the last three months. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. Specifically, we decided to study UnitedHealth Group's ROE in this article.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors' money. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE can be calculated by using the formula:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for UnitedHealth Group is:

15% = US$15b ÷ US$99b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.15 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don't share these attributes.

A Side By Side comparison of UnitedHealth Group's Earnings Growth And 15% ROE

To start with, UnitedHealth Group's ROE looks acceptable. And on comparing with the industry, we found that the the average industry ROE is similar at 13%. This probably goes some way in explaining UnitedHealth Group's moderate 7.1% growth over the past five years amongst other factors.

As a next step, we compared UnitedHealth Group's net income growth with the industry and found that the company has a similar growth figure when compared with the industry average growth rate of 6.2% in the same period.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It's important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is UnitedHealth Group fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is UnitedHealth Group Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

With a three-year median payout ratio of 31% (implying that the company retains 69% of its profits), it seems that UnitedHealth Group is reinvesting efficiently in a way that it sees respectable amount growth in its earnings and pays a dividend that's well covered.

Additionally, UnitedHealth Group has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 27%. Still, forecasts suggest that UnitedHealth Group's future ROE will rise to 25% even though the the company's payout ratio is not expected to change by much.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with UnitedHealth Group's performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings are expected to accelerate. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.