UnitedHealth 1Q earns jump 30 percent

MINNETONKA, Minn. (AP) _ UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) on Tuesday reported first-quarter earnings of $2.84 billion.

The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company said it had net income of $2.87 per share. Earnings, adjusted for amortization costs, were $3.04 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.92 per share.

The largest U.S. health insurer posted revenue of $55.19 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $54.86 billion.

UnitedHealth expects full-year earnings in the range of $12.40 to $12.65 per share.

UnitedHealth shares have climbed 4.5 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has stayed nearly flat. The stock has increased 38 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 https://www.zacks.com/ap/UNH