Sectors & IndustriesHealthcareHealthcare Plans

Best Healthcare Plan Stocks to Buy Now (2024)

Top healthcare plan stocks in 2024 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:

Centene (NYSE:CNC) is the top healthcare plan stock with a Zen Score of 62, which is 22 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 40. It passed 20 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Centene has seen its stock return 12.61% over the past year, overperforming other healthcare plan stocks by 9 percentage points.

Centene has an average 1 year price target of $89.00, an upside of 16.81% from Centene's current stock price of $76.19.

Centene stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 6 analysts covering Centene, 66.67% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 33.33% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Cvs Health (NYSE:CVS) is the second best healthcare plan stock with a Zen Score of 52, which is 12 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 40. It passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Cvs Health has seen its stock lose -7.72% over the past year, underperforming other healthcare plan stocks by -11 percentage points.

Cvs Health has an average 1 year price target of $88.60, an upside of 30.74% from Cvs Health's current stock price of $67.77.

Cvs Health stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 10 analysts covering Cvs Health, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 30% have issued a Buy, 20% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) is the third best healthcare plan stock with a Zen Score of 50, which is 10 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 40. It passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Cigna Group has seen its stock return 37.56% over the past year, overperforming other healthcare plan stocks by 34 percentage points.

Cigna Group has an average 1 year price target of $375.54, an upside of 6.6% from Cigna Group's current stock price of $352.28.

Cigna Group stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 13 analysts covering Cigna Group, 61.54% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 30.77% have issued a Buy, 7.69% 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 3.75%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 1.8%. 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 38.2% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Unitedhealth Group (NYSE:UNH) has an annual dividend yield of 1.54%, which is the same as the healthcare plan industry average of 1.8%. 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 30.2% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) has an annual dividend yield of 1.44%, which is the same as the healthcare plan industry average of 1.8%. Cigna Group's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Cigna Group's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio of 28% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Healthcare plan stocks were down -0.27% in the last day, and up 2.07% over the last week. Humana was the among the top losers in the healthcare plans industry, dropping -3.66% yesterday.

Humana shares are trading lower after the company said its EPS growth outlook will be impacted by several variables and said it no longer believes $6 to $10 of Adjusted EPS growth is the appropriate target range for 2025.

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 41 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 30. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Centene's stock has gained 12.61% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the healthcare plan industry by 9 percentage points.

Cvs Health (NYSE:CVS) is the second most undervalued healthcare plan stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Cvs Health has a valuation score of 71, which is 41 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 30. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cvs Health's stock has dropped -7.72% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the healthcare plan industry by -11 percentage points.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) is the third most undervalued healthcare plan stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Humana has a valuation score of 57, which is 27 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 30. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Humana's stock has dropped -37.02% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the healthcare plan industry by -40 percentage points.