Humana (NYSE:HUM) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $253.00 to $255.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. 2,818,103 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 116% from the previous session’s volume of 1,305,321 shares.The stock last traded at $288.34 and had previously closed at $284.92.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on HUM. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Humana from $400.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Humana from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Humana from $349.00 to $250.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.80.

Insider Activity

In other Humana news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total transaction of $948,930.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. The trade was a 31.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Humana

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HUM. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in Humana by 6,647.5% in the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 27,260 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,916,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 190.0% during the 3rd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in shares of Humana by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,173,535 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $371,705,000 after purchasing an additional 71,910 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Humana by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 105,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,567,000 after buying an additional 3,085 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Humana in the third quarter valued at about $948,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Humana Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $35.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $273.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.68. Humana had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. The firm had revenue of $29.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.66 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.