If You Invested $1000 in Molina a Decade Ago, This is How Much It'd Be Worth Now

In this article:

For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. This factor can impact your investment portfolio as well as help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

The fear of missing out, or FOMO, also plays a factor in investing, especially with particular tech giants, as well as popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Molina (MOH) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to MOH for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Molina's Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Molina's main business drivers.

Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Long Beach, CA, Molina Healthcare Inc. is a multi-state managed care organization participating exclusively in government-sponsored healthcare programs such as the Medicaid program and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), catering to low-income persons. It is a FORTUNE 500 company.

The company provides managed healthcare services under the Medicaid and Medicare programs, and through the state insurance marketplaces (the Marketplace). Strong Medicare and Medicaid performance will buoy results.

Molina Healthcare was formerly known as American Family Care Inc. until it changed its name in Mar 2000. The company currently operates in two segments: Health Plans and Other. The company manages most of its operations through the Health Plans segment.

The Other segment mainly includes the results of the Pathways behavioral health unit, which Molina sold in the fourth quarter of 2018 apart from other corporate amounts not allocated to the segment.

As of Dec 31, 2022, the company served around 5.3 million members through its locally-operated health plans across several markets, indicating a 1.1% year-over-year increase. This is reflective of an improving business scenario.

The health plans are locally operated by wholly owned subsidiaries of Molina, each of which is licensed as a health maintenance organization, or HMO. Molina Healthcare derives revenues primarily from premiums paid to its health plans by the relevant state Medicaid authority. The premium revenues are jointly financed by the federal government and the states.

The company also derives revenues from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in connection with its Medicare services.

Bottom Line

While anyone can invest, building a lucrative investment portfolio takes research, patience, and a little bit of risk. If you had invested in Molina ten years ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.

According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in September 2013 would be worth $9,136.74, or an 813.67% gain, as of September 22, 2023. Investors should keep in mind that this return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.

The S&P 500 rose 153.23% and the price of gold increased 34.88% over the same time frame in comparison.

Analysts are anticipating more upside for MOH.

Molina Healthcare’s second-quarter earnings beat estimates. It is poised for growth on the back of improving top-line and margin recovery. We expect the top line to grow 3.5% year over year in 2023. The company's enterprise-wide restructuring program to improve operational efficiency is providing impressive results. Its solid 2023 guidance instills investors’ confidence. Adjusted EPS for 2023 is expected to be a minimum of $20.75, which suggests 16% growth from the 2022 figure. New contract wins continue to buoy results. Its balance sheet strength is impressive. Its shares have outperformed its industry in a year. However, a high MCR ratio indicates a smaller amount of premium left over after paying insurance claims. We expect membership to fall 2.8% year over year as of Dec 31, 2023. As such, the stock warrants a cautious stance.

The stock is up 5.25% over the past four weeks, and no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 8 higher, for fiscal 2023. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Molina Healthcare, Inc (MOH) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research

Advertisement