Sectors & IndustriesHealthcareHealthcare Plans

Best Healthcare Plan Stocks to Buy Now (2023)

Top healthcare plan stocks in 2023 ranked by overall Zen Score. See the best healthcare plan stocks to buy now, according to analyst forecasts for the healthcare plans industry.

According to Zen Score, the 3 best healthcare plan stocks to buy right now are:

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) is the top healthcare plan stock with a Zen Score of 58, which is 19 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 39. It passed 19 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Molina Healthcare has seen its stock return 11.21% over the past year, underperforming other healthcare plan stocks by -5 percentage points.

Molina Healthcare has an average 1 year price target of $369.91, an upside of 23.98% from Molina Healthcare's current stock price of $298.35.

Molina Healthcare stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 11 analysts covering Molina Healthcare, 45.45% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 18.18% have issued a Buy, 27.27% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 9.09% have issued a Strong Sell.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) is the second best healthcare plan stock with a Zen Score of 55, which is 16 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 39. It passed 17 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Centene has seen its stock return 1.69% over the past year, underperforming other healthcare plan stocks by -14 percentage points.

Centene has an average 1 year price target of $99.23, an upside of 29.53% from Centene's current stock price of $76.61.

Centene stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 13 analysts covering Centene, 53.85% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 23.08% have issued a Buy, 15.38% have issued a hold, while 7.69% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Unitedhealth Group (NYSE:UNH) is the third best healthcare plan stock with a Zen Score of 49, which is 10 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 39. It passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Unitedhealth Group has seen its stock return 7.43% over the past year, underperforming other healthcare plan stocks by -9 percentage points.

Unitedhealth Group has an average 1 year price target of $597.25, an upside of 21.27% from Unitedhealth Group's current stock price of $492.48.

Unitedhealth Group stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 16 analysts covering Unitedhealth Group, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 31.25% have issued a Buy, 18.75% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 5 healthcare plan stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 healthcare plan stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Cvs Health (NYSE:CVS) has an annual dividend yield of 2.57%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 1.39%. Cvs Health's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Cvs Health's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Cvs Health's dividend payout ratio of 91.7% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Cigna (NYSE:CI) has an annual dividend yield of 1.43%, which is the same as the healthcare plan industry average of 1.39%. Cigna's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Cigna's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Cigna's dividend payout ratio of 20.6% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Unitedhealth Group (NYSE:UNH) has an annual dividend yield of 1.3%, which is the same as the healthcare plan industry average of 1.39%. Unitedhealth Group's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Unitedhealth Group's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Unitedhealth Group's dividend payout ratio of 29.9% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Healthcare plan stocks were up 0.31% in the last day, and up 1.86% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why healthcare plan stocks are up.

Based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score, the 3 most undervalued healthcare plan stocks right now are:

Centene (NYSE:CNC) is the most undervalued healthcare plan stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Centene has a valuation score of 71, which is 38 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 33. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Centene's stock has gained 1.69% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the healthcare plan industry by -14 percentage points.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) is the second most undervalued healthcare plan stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Molina Healthcare has a valuation score of 43, which is 10 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 33. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Molina Healthcare's stock has gained 11.21% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the healthcare plan industry by -5 percentage points.

Multiplan (NYSE:MPLN) is the third most undervalued healthcare plan stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Multiplan has a valuation score of 43, which is 10 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 33. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Multiplan's stock has dropped -65.52% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the healthcare plan industry by -82 percentage points.