UnitedHealth's strong Q4 lifts health insurers

Alignment Healthcare

13/01/2023 15:49

** Shares of health insurers rise after UnitedHealth Group's
 UNH.N  Q4 results
    ** UNH reports adj. EPS of $5.34 vs Refinitiv est of $5.17,
helped by lower medical costs, and strength across its large
health insurance business
    ** Shares of Cigna Corp  CI.N  up 2.1%, Elevance Health
 ELV.N  up 2%, Centene Corp  CNC.N  up 1% and Humana Inc  HUM.N 
up 1.8%    
    ** UNH's medical care ratio, the percentage of premiums vs
payouts on claims, improved to 82.8% in Q4 vs 83.7% a year
earlier
    ** Flu spike in Q4 played out as expected, not a meaningful
impact - UNH
    ** UNH trading 2.5% up at $508.01; stock has risen 8.7% in
last 12 months
 (Reporting by Aditya Samal)
 ((Aditya.Samal@thomsonreuters.com;))