Zacks Research Issues Negative Outlook for Humana Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research turned negative on Humana’s outlook, cutting its Q1 2027 EPS estimate to $8.69 from $8.98 and maintaining a Strong Sell rating on the stock.
• Despite the bearish note, Humana’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $10.31 versus the $9.97 consensus and revenue of $39.65 billion, up 23.5% year over year.
• Wall Street remains cautious overall: the stock has a consensus Hold rating, with 7 Buy, 15 Hold, and 4 Sell ratings, and an average price target of $246.83.

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Humana in a research note issued on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the insurance provider will earn $8.69 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $8.98. Zacks Research has a "Strong Sell" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Humana's current full-year earnings is $9.06 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Humana's FY2027 earnings at $13.26 EPS.

HUM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Humana from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Humana from $206.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Humana in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Humana from $180.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Humana from $185.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $246.83.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of Humana stock opened at $305.08 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $200.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.42. The firm has a market cap of $36.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.68. Humana has a 12 month low of $163.11 and a 12 month high of $315.35.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $10.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.97 by $0.34. Humana had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 0.82%.The business had revenue of $39.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $11.58 EPS. Humana's revenue was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. Humana has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000- EPS.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. Humana's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.86%.

Insider Activity

In other Humana news, insider Sanjay K. Shetty bought 810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $185.21 per share, for a total transaction of $150,020.10. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 11,657 shares in the company, valued at $2,158,992.97. This represents a 7.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Humana

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 113.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,818,008 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,490,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,097,571 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Humana by 273.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,488,261 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $907,541,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553,509 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Humana during the 4th quarter worth approximately $456,632,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Humana by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,470,982 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $948,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Humana by 4,481.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,196,502 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $306,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170,387 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company's stock.

Humana Company Profile

Humana Inc NYSE: HUM is a health insurance company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that primarily serves individuals and groups across the United States. The company is best known for its Medicare business, offering Medicare Advantage plans and prescription drug (Part D) coverage, alongside a range of commercial and employer-sponsored group health plans. Humana's products are designed to cover medical, behavioral health and pharmacy needs for members, with particular emphasis on seniors and Medicare-eligible populations.

In addition to traditional insurance products, Humana provides care-management and wellness services intended to support chronic-condition management, preventive care and care coordination.

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