Barclays Lowers Humana (NYSE:HUM) Price Target to $310.00

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Barclays from $356.00 to $310.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 0.62% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HUM. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $342.00 target price (down previously from $470.00) on shares of Humana in a research report on Tuesday. Argus lowered shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Humana from $465.00 to $413.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Humana from $507.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Humana presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $468.74.

Humana Stock Performance

HUM opened at $308.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.59. Humana has a 52-week low of $299.23 and a 52-week high of $541.21. The firm has a market cap of $37.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $356.79 and its 200-day moving average is $438.70.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.87). The firm had revenue of $26.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.47 billion. Humana had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The company’s revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Humana will post 16.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita bought 545 shares of Humana stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HUM. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Humana by 2.3% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,869,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Humana by 27.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,595,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Silverarc Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Humana during the third quarter worth approximately $4,865,000. Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Humana by 43.3% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 27,993 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,815,000 after buying an additional 8,455 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in Humana by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 64,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,563,000 after buying an additional 5,672 shares during the period. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Humana

Humana Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides medical and specialty insurance products in the United States. It operates through two segments, Insurance and CenterWell. The company offers medical and supplemental benefit plans to individuals. It has a contract with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to administer the Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition prescription drug plan program; and contracts with various states to provide Medicaid, dual eligible, and long-term support services benefits.