Analysts Set Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) PT at $300.50

Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $302.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on HUM shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Humana from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $519.00 to $253.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Humana from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Humana from $288.00 to $301.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Humana Stock Performance

NYSE HUM opened at $266.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $272.82 and a 200-day moving average of $312.17. Humana has a 52-week low of $213.31 and a 52-week high of $464.38.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.66 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Humana will post 16.14 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of Humana stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total value of $948,930.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,463.06. The trade was a 31.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 244.0% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in Humana in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Humana during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP boosted its holdings in Humana by 81.8% in the third quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in Humana in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.