Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $288.00 to $301.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Humana from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $392.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Humana from $349.00 to $250.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Humana from $332.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.50.

Humana Stock Down 10.2 %

Shares of NYSE HUM opened at $233.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $28.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76. Humana has a 1 year low of $213.31 and a 1 year high of $475.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $274.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $322.89.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $29.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.66 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 1.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Humana will post 16.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.36%.

Institutional Trading of Humana

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HUM. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 538.7% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,318,347 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $866,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955,375 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Humana by 118.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,425,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $532,564,000 after buying an additional 774,085 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Humana by 261,025.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,984 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,340,660,000 after buying an additional 738,701 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Humana by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,388,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,073,387,000 after buying an additional 643,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA acquired a new stake in shares of Humana during the second quarter valued at about $156,933,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.