Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock Price Up 3.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)’s stock price rose 3.1% during trading on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $288.00 to $301.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Humana traded as high as $242.40 and last traded at $241.04. Approximately 1,641,389 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 1,861,497 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.89.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Humana from $332.00 to $396.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Humana in the third quarter worth approximately $1,306,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Humana by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,254 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Humana by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 24,357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,715,000 after acquiring an additional 6,755 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Humana during the 3rd quarter valued at $948,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Humana in the 3rd quarter worth $631,000. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Humana Stock Up 2.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $28.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $274.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $322.31.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $29.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.66 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 1.18%. Analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 16.14 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.36%.

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.