Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $295.9444.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HUM shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Humana from $288.00 to $272.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Humana in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Humana from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Humana from $269.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Humana from $344.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th.

Humana Stock Up 3.8%

HUM stock opened at $237.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.42. Humana has a 52-week low of $206.87 and a 52-week high of $315.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.86.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.29. Humana had a net margin of 1.28% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The firm had revenue of $32.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Humana will post 16.47 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.18%.

Institutional Trading of Humana

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,136,538 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $300,728,000 after purchasing an additional 158,528 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Humana by 104.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,701,000 after buying an additional 3,281 shares during the last quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Humana during the first quarter valued at about $425,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Humana in the second quarter worth about $253,000. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 100,397 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $24,545,000 after acquiring an additional 5,032 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.