There's an old -- and very appropriate -- investing saw that says, "Tips are for waiters." So I'm not going to bother giving you a stock tip. I do, however, have a stock idea for you.

What's the difference? Well, a stock tip is generally a hush-hush, wink-wink affair where the tipper expects the tip-ee to run out and buy the stock based on the tip alone. A stock idea, on the other hand, is a good starting point, but is in need of further research before it becomes a fully baked investment thesis.

So let's cut the jibber-jabber and get right to today's idea: UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH). The Motley Fool's CAPS community has overwhelmingly recommended this stock, with more than 3,000 members giving it an outperform rating versus just 128 who have rated it an underperformer.

Let's take a look at how UnitedHealth compares to similar companies in the health-care industry:

Company

TTM Net Profit Margin

TTM Return on Equity

Price-to-Book Ratio

CAPS Rating
(out of 5)

UnitedHealth

3.6%

14.4%

1.4

*****

Aetna (NYSE: AET)

4.4%

15.2%

1.3

****

Coventry Health Care (NYSE: CVH)

2.4%

8.9%

0.7

**** Continued...