Humana (NYSE:HUM) Raised to “Outperform” at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Humana (NYSE:HUM) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has $308.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Humana from $355.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Humana from $400.00 to $280.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stephens cut Humana from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Humana from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Humana from $349.00 to $250.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $322.00.

Humana Price Performance

NYSE:HUM opened at $251.36 on Tuesday. Humana has a 52 week low of $213.31 and a 52 week high of $530.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $329.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $341.40.

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

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Humana’s payout ratio is presently 25.25%.

Institutional Trading of Humana

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HUM. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Humana by 538.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,318,347 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $866,250,000 after buying an additional 1,955,375 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in shares of Humana by 11,647.2% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,059,478 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $367,342,000 after buying an additional 1,050,459 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Humana by 118.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,425,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $532,564,000 after purchasing an additional 774,085 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in Humana by 550.3% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 875,489 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $400,808,000 after purchasing an additional 740,858 shares during the period. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Humana in the first quarter valued at approximately $158,813,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Humana Company Profile

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.