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

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $302.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on HUM. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of Humana in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Humana from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Humana from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of Humana stock opened at $269.70 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $273.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $310.63. The company has a market cap of $32.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.55. 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 one year low of $213.31 and a one year high of $459.76.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.68. Humana had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. The firm had revenue of $29.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.66 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Humana will post 16.14 EPS for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Humana news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total transaction of $948,930.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. This trade represents a 31.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Humana by 244.0% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in Humana during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Humana in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Humana by 81.8% in the third quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Humana during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.