Sifting through countless of stocks in the Health Care Providers & Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated or Humana Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and Humana Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and Humana Inc.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a health care company in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Optum Health, Optum Insight, Optum Rx; and UnitedHealthcare. The Optum Health segment provides care delivery, care management, wellness and consumer engagement, and health financial services with patients, consumers, care delivery systems, providers, employers, payers, and public-sector entities. The Optum Insight segment offers software and information products, advisory consulting arrangements, and managed services outsourcing contracts to hospital systems, physicians, health plans, public entities, life sciences companies and other organizations. The Optum Rx segment provides pharmacy care services and programs, including retail network contracting, home delivery, specialty and community health pharmacy services, infusion, and purchasing and clinical capabilities, as well as develops programs in the areas of step therapy, formulary management, drug adherence, and disease and drug therapy management. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; Medicaid plans, including Temporary Assistance to Needy Families; Children’s Health Insurance Programs; Dual SNPs; Long-Term Services and Supports; Aged, Blind and Disabled; and other federal, state, and community health care programs. and health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated was founded in 1974 and is based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Humana Inc. provides medical and specialty insurance products in the United States. It operates in two segments, Insurance and CenterWell. The Insurance segment offers individual Medicare Advantage products, including health insurance benefits, including wellness programs, chronic care management, and care coordination; individual Medicare stand-alone prescription drug products (PDP); group Medicare advantage and Medicare stand-alone PDP; Medicare supplements; specialty and ancillary insurance comprising dental, vision, life and disability; and administrative services to arrange health care services for active-duty and retired military personnel and dependents, as well as pharmacy benefit managers. Its CenterWell segment operates full-service, value-based senior focused primary care centers under the Conviva Senior Primary Care and CenterWell Senior Primary Care brands; a management services organization; CenterWell Home Health, a home health provider; and OneHome, which manages post-acute patient needs, as well as provides pharmacy and hospice solutions. The company was formerly known as Extendicare Inc. and changed its name to Humana Inc. in April 1974. Humana Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

Latest Health Care Providers & Services and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, Humana Inc. Stock News

As of May 29, 2026, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated had a $345.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Health Care Providers & Services median of $1.5 million. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated’s stock is up 15.2% in 2026, down 0.6% in the previous five trading days and up 27.57% in the past year.

Currently, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated’s price-earnings ratio is 28.7. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated’s trailing 12-month revenue is $449.7 billion with a 2.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 2.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $18.373 per share for the current fiscal year. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated currently has a 2.3% dividend yield.

As of May 29, 2026, Humana Inc. had a $36.7 billion market cap, putting it in the 91st percentile of all stocks. Humana Inc.’s stock is up 19.2% in 2026, up 0.6% in the previous five trading days and up 34.08% in the past year.

Currently, Humana Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 32.6. Humana Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $137.2 billion with a 0.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 23.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $8.839 per share for the current fiscal year. Humana Inc. currently has a 1.2% dividend yield.

How We Compare UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and Humana Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and Humana Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and Humana Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated	UNH	D
Humana Inc.	HUM	C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a Value Score of 38, which is Expensive. Humana Inc. has a Value Score of 49, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither UnitedHealth Group Incorporated or Humana Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if UnitedHealth Group Incorporated or Humana Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and Humana Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated	UNH	C
Humana Inc.	HUM	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a Quality Score of 59, which is Average. Humana Inc. has a Quality Score of 68, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Humana Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Humana Inc. has a better overall quality grade than UnitedHealth Group Incorporated. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Humana Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and Humana Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated	UNH	B
Humana Inc.	HUM	A

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a Momentum Score of 71, which is Strong. Humana Inc. has a Momentum Score of 85, which is Very Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Humana Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Humana Inc. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to UnitedHealth Group Incorporated. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Humana Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and Humana Inc. Grades

In addition to Momentum, Quality and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and Humana Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated or Humana Inc. Stock?

Overall, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated stock has a Value Score of 38, Momentum Score of 71 and Quality Score of 59.

Humana Inc. stock has a Value Score of 49, Momentum Score of 85 and Quality Score of 68.

Comparing UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and Humana Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.