UnitedHealth beats all around in 3Q, raises outlook

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) on Tuesday reported third-quarter earnings of $3.19 billion.

On a per-share basis, the Minneapolis-based company said it had profit of $3.24. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $3.41 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $3.30 per share.

The largest U.S. health insurer posted revenue of $56.56 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $56.13 billion.

UnitedHealth expects full-year earnings to be $12.80 per share.

UnitedHealth shares have risen 18 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed almost 3 percent. The stock has risen 35 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