Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Humana has a consensus “Hold” rating among 30 analysts, with 15 holds, 14 buys and one sell. The average 12-month price target is approximately $403.91, above the stock’s reported $378.02 price.
• Recent analyst views have been mixed: Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo raised their ratings, while Raymond James and HSBC downgraded Humana; price targets range from $370 to $502.
• Humana reported quarterly earnings of $7.61 per share, beating estimates of $7.27, while revenue rose 26.2% year over year to $40.89 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.885, equivalent to a 0.9% annual yield.

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirty ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $403.9130.

HUM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Humana from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $249.00 to $370.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Humana from $344.00 to $407.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Humana from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. HSBC cut shares of Humana to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Humana from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $227.00 to $502.00 in a report on Monday, July 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Humana by 10.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 70,185 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $27,879,000 after buying an additional 6,690 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Humana by 55.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,753 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,285,000 after acquiring an additional 2,055 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Humana by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 470,587 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $186,927,000 after acquiring an additional 92,496 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Humana in the 2nd quarter valued at $14,142,000. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Humana by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,883 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company's stock.

Humana Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:HUM opened at $378.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.39 billion, a PE ratio of 35.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. Humana has a 1 year low of $163.11 and a 1 year high of $428.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $388.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $313.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $7.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.27 by $0.34. Humana had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 0.88%.The firm had revenue of $40.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.27 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Humana will post 9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Humana's payout ratio is currently 33.49%.

About Humana

Humana Inc NYSE: HUM is a U.S.-based health insurance and health care services company focused primarily on government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare prescription drug plans, Medicaid coverage and specialty insurance products, serving individuals, employers and government organizations.

Through its CenterWell business, Humana also provides senior-focused primary care, pharmacy services and home health care. These operations are designed to support coordinated care for older adults and other members with ongoing health care needs.

Humana was founded in 1961 as a nursing-home company and later expanded into hospital ownership before shifting its focus toward health insurance.

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