Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock Rating Lowered by Leerink Partners

Humana (NYSE:HUM) was downgraded by stock analysts at Leerink Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. They presently have a $250.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $400.00. Leerink Partners’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.05% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on HUM. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Humana from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $395.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Humana from $332.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Humana in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $374.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Humana from $341.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $383.05.

Humana Stock Performance

Humana stock traded down $43.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $235.73. The company had a trading volume of 8,613,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,694,783. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Humana has a 52 week low of $213.31 and a 52 week high of $530.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $346.44 and a 200-day moving average of $343.73. The firm has a market cap of $28.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.50.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.89 by $1.07. The company had revenue of $29.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.52 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.53% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Humana will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Humana

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Humana by 9.2% during the second quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel increased its holdings in Humana by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 2,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Humana by 17.0% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 213 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Humana by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,050,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Humana by 111.4% during the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 74 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 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.