Zacks Research Upgrades Humana (NYSE:HUM) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Humana (HUM) from a "strong sell" to a Hold; the consensus from 26 analysts is a Hold with a consensus price target of $225.48 (7 Buys, 16 Holds, 3 Sells).
• Humana beat estimates last quarter with EPS of ($3.96) vs. ($4.01) expected and revenue of $32.64 billion (+11.3% YoY), and it set FY 2026 guidance at 9.00 EPS while analysts forecast 16.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Shares opened at $179.27 and trade well below the 50‑day ($221.75) and 200‑day ($252.52) averages (12‑month range $169.61–$315.35); insider Sanjay Shetty bought 810 shares and institutional investors own about 92.38% of the stock.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on HUM. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $344.00 price target on shares of Humana in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Humana in a report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $146.00 price objective on Humana in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Humana in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Humana from $280.00 to $264.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Humana presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $225.48.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of HUM opened at $179.27 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.52. Humana has a 12-month low of $169.61 and a 12-month high of $315.35. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $21.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.44.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($3.96) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($4.01) by $0.05. Humana had a net margin of 0.92% and a return on equity of 11.43%. The firm had revenue of $32.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.16) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Humana has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000-9.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Humana will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sanjay K. Shetty purchased 810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $185.21 per share, with a total value of $150,020.10. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 11,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,158,992.97. The trade was a 7.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Humana by 9.6% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 49,658 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $12,920,000 after buying an additional 4,351 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Humana by 161.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,717,767 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $446,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,767 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Humana by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 189,601 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $49,328,000 after acquiring an additional 5,150 shares during the last quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Humana in the third quarter worth approximately $1,873,000. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 106.5% during the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 16,953 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,411,000 after purchasing an additional 8,744 shares during the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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