UnitedHealth ups profit forecast after big 2Q

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings of $3.29 billion.

The Minneapolis-based company said it had net income of $3.42 per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $3.60 per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $3.46 per share.

The largest U.S. health insurer posted revenue of $60.6 billion in the period, falling short of Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $60.67 billion.

UnitedHealth expects full-year earnings in the range of $14.70 to $14.90 per share.

UnitedHealth shares have increased 7% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen 19%. The stock has climbed 6.5% 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