Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $225.4783.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HUM. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Humana from $312.00 to $252.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Humana from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $322.00 to $189.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Humana from $215.00 to $158.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Humana from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Evercore reduced their price objective on Humana from $260.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 12th.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In other Humana news, insider Sanjay K. Shetty acquired 810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $185.21 per share, for a total transaction of $150,020.10. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 11,657 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,992.97. This represents a 7.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Humana by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,261,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,890,000 after purchasing an additional 106,030 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of Humana by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 11,352,920 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,775,562,000 after buying an additional 597,705 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,462,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,403,877,000 after acquiring an additional 97,211 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,496,775 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,151,759,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,514 shares during the period. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of HUM stock opened at $180.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $21.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.44. Humana has a 52 week low of $169.61 and a 52 week high of $315.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $253.27.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($3.96) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.01) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $32.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.08 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 0.92%.Humana’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.16) EPS. Humana has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Humana will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. Humana’s payout ratio is 36.05%.

About Humana

Humana Inc (NYSE: HUM) is a health insurance company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that primarily serves individuals and groups across the United States. The company is best known for its Medicare business, offering Medicare Advantage plans and prescription drug (Part D) coverage, alongside a range of commercial and employer-sponsored group health plans. Humana’s products are designed to cover medical, behavioral health and pharmacy needs for members, with particular emphasis on seniors and Medicare-eligible populations.

In addition to traditional insurance products, Humana provides care-management and wellness services intended to support chronic-condition management, preventive care and care coordination.