Things may finally be looking up for UnitedHealth (UNH). Shares of the largest health insurer in the United States popped more than 5% in yesterday's trading session after leading broker Bank of America upgraded the company to a “Buy” from “Neutral.” The firm also increased its price target on the stock to $450 from $420, which would entail an upside potential of 12% from current levels.

Even more good news awaited its shareholders when the company recently raised its dividend by 5% to $2.32 per share. Notably, UnitedHealth has been raising dividends consecutively over the past 16 years, and with the latest rise, its stock now offers a dividend yield of 2.34%. Valued at a market cap of $360 billion, UNH stock is up 21.7% on a YTD basis.

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About UnitedHealth

With its founding days going back more than five decades, UnitedHealth is no longer simply an insurance company. Through its Optum division, it has become a healthcare ecosystem spanning insurance, pharmacy benefit management, health care delivery, data analytics, and technology services.

However, the company has been struggling of late. Thus, on the back of its newfound confidence due to its latest quarterly earnings and armed with an upgrade from Bank of America, can UNH stock finally make a comeback? Let's find out.

Greenshoots Visible

Growth may not be one of the defining features of a company like UnitedHealth, especially after substantial pruning of its non-US businesses and realignment of focus towards its domestic operations. However, stability is.

For Q1 ended March 31, 2026, UnitedHealth delivered revenues of $111.7 billion. This marked a growth of just 2% from the previous year. Yet, earnings, which saw three straight quarters of yearly declines, managed to remain flat at $7.23 per share (vs $7.20 per share in the year-ago period). Further, this was above the consensus estimate of $6.58 per share, marking the third consecutive quarter of earnings beat from the company.

The medical care ratio, a key metric that tracks how much of the premium revenue an insurer spends on actual medical claims, dropped to 83.9% from 84.9% in the same period a year ago.

Cash flow from operations rose considerably to $8.9 billion from $5.5 billion in the prior year, as the company closed the quarter with a mammoth cash balance of $31.2 billion. This was much above its short-term debt levels of $6.5 billion.