Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its target price lifted by analysts at Barclays from $255.00 to $270.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.46% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $283.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America upgraded Humana from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $247.00 to $308.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.05.

Humana Stock Performance

NYSE HUM opened at $253.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $30.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.56. 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 has a twelve month low of $213.31 and a twelve month high of $406.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.17.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 1.18%. Equities analysts anticipate that Humana will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In other news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total transaction of $948,930.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. This trade represents a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Dodge & Cox increased its position in Humana by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,198,040 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,587,345,000 after buying an additional 5,264,045 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Humana by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,829,210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,254,899,000 after buying an additional 1,751,857 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Humana during the fourth quarter worth approximately $416,202,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Humana by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,609,382 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $915,736,000 after buying an additional 1,103,132 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in Humana by 435.8% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,098,702 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $279,236,000 after buying an additional 893,637 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.