UnitedHealth signals prolonged pain with new, far lower profit forecast, shares fall

(Reuters) -UnitedHealth Group provided a full-year profit forecast on Tuesday after suspending its prior outlook in May, revealing billions of additional costs the company will face in the upcoming quarters. The health insurer projected full-year adjusted earnings per share of at least $16, well short of analysts' already diminished estimates, while second-quarter profit also missed Wall Street expectations. "While the $16 EPS floor was lower than expected, it does give investors/analysts a base to model off of, and potentially sets up UNH to return to the 'beat and raise' cadence that its investors had become accustomed to," said James Harlow, senior vice president at Novare Capital Management.