Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock Price Down 6.1% – Here’s Why

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) shares dropped 6.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $243.77 and last traded at $244.68. Approximately 1,250,739 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 1,842,516 shares. The stock had previously closed at $260.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on HUM. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Humana in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Humana from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $247.00 to $308.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut Humana from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $400.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.50.

Humana Stock Down 1.7 %

The company has a market cap of $28.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $322.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $29.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.66 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 16.14 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.36%.

Institutional Trading of Humana

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Humana by 244.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in Humana in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Humana in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP boosted its position in Humana by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Humana in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.