Oppenheimer Cuts Humana (NYSE:HUM) Price Target to $370.00

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its target price decreased by Oppenheimer from $415.00 to $370.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

HUM has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered Humana from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group restated a neutral rating and set a $370.00 price objective (down previously from $530.00) on shares of Humana in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a neutral rating and set a $391.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Humana from $550.00 to $400.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $424.50.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HUM opened at $305.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $36.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $327.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $393.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Humana has a fifty-two week low of $299.23 and a fifty-two week high of $541.21.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. The company had revenue of $29.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.52 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 1.82%. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Humana will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Humana’s payout ratio is 22.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita bought 545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HUM. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 103.0% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 1,463 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 3.6% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Humana by 2.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 805 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Humana by 46.4% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 21,656 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,536,000 after purchasing an additional 6,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Humana in the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

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.