Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Stock Has Average Target Price of $403.91

Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $408.61.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HUM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Humana from $316.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Humana from $246.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Humana from $335.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Bank of America raised Humana from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $390.00 target price on Humana in a research report on Thursday, July 30th.

Humana Trading Up 4.4%

NYSE HUM opened at $397.09 on Tuesday. Humana has a 12 month low of $163.11 and a 12 month high of $428.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $47.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $386.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $317.80.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $7.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.27 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $40.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.58 billion. Humana had a net margin of 0.88% and a return on equity of 11.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.27 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Humana will post 9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.8850 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.49%.

Institutional Trading of Humana

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Humana in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,138,160,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Humana during the second quarter worth about $1,749,014,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Humana by 113.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,818,008 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,490,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,097,571 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Humana in the fourth quarter worth about $456,632,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Humana by 914.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,255,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $321,613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131,893 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

About Humana

Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) is a U.S.-based health insurance and health care services company focused primarily on government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare prescription drug plans, Medicaid coverage and specialty insurance products, serving individuals, employers and government organizations.

Through its CenterWell business, Humana also provides senior-focused primary care, pharmacy services and home health care. These operations are designed to support coordinated care for older adults and other members with ongoing health care needs.

Humana was founded in 1961 as a nursing-home company and later expanded into hospital ownership before shifting its focus toward health insurance.