Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $424.50.

Several brokerages have recently commented on HUM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $595.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Humana from $415.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Humana from $550.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of Humana stock opened at $320.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Humana has a one year low of $298.61 and a one year high of $541.21. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $324.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $388.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.49.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. The company had revenue of $29.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.52 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.38 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Humana will post 16.18 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Humana

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita purchased 545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HUM. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Humana during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,871,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in Humana during the first quarter valued at approximately $13,000,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Humana by 36,975.8% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 362,972 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $125,850,000 after purchasing an additional 361,993 shares during the last quarter. General American Investors Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Humana in the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,829,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Humana during the 1st quarter valued at $46,885,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.