Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eighteen have assigned a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $315.33.

HUM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Humana from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $376.00 to $247.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Humana from $332.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Humana from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Leerink Partners cut Humana from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $400.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Humana by 111.4% during the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 74 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in Humana during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP grew its holdings in Humana by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Humana in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Humana in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Humana Stock Performance

HUM opened at $260.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Humana has a 52-week low of $213.31 and a 52-week high of $527.18. The firm has a market cap of $31.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $306.51 and its 200-day moving average is $336.35.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.89 by $1.07. The firm had revenue of $29.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.52 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.53% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Humana will post 16.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s payout ratio is presently 25.25%.

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.