Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $424.50.

Several research analysts have recently commented on HUM shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a research report on Friday, January 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $595.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita purchased 545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Auxano Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Humana in the fourth quarter valued at about $540,000. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Humana by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,869,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Humana by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,595,000 after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Silverarc Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Humana during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,865,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 43.3% in 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 last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Humana Stock Down 0.1 %

HUM stock opened at $320.54 on Tuesday. Humana has a 1-year low of $298.61 and a 1-year high of $541.21. The stock has a market cap of $38.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $324.12 and its 200 day moving average is $388.34.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. The firm had revenue of $29.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.52 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Humana will post 16.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.04%.

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.