Humana (HUM) Competitors

Centene (NYSE:CNC) and Humana (NYSE:HUM) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, media sentiment, institutional ownership, community ranking, risk, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Which has more volatility and risk, CNC or HUM?

Centene has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Humana has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to CNC or HUM?

In the previous week, Humana had 4 more articles in the media than Centene. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Humana and 8 mentions for Centene. Centene's average media sentiment score of 0.50 beat Humana's score of 0.04 indicating that Centene is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Centene	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Humana	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is CNC or HUM more profitable?

Humana has a net margin of 3.26% compared to Centene's net margin of 1.01%. Humana's return on equity of 21.04% beat Centene's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Centene	1.01%	13.61%	4.28%
Humana	3.26%	21.04%	6.87%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in CNC or HUM?

93.3% of Centene shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.4% of Humana shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Centene shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Humana shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, CNC or HUM?

Humana has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Centene. Humana is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Centene, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Centene	$144.55 billion	0.25	$1.20 billion	$2.64	25.17
Humana	$92.87 billion	0.70	$2.81 billion	$24.62	21.15

Do analysts prefer CNC or HUM?

Centene presently has a consensus target price of $91.11, suggesting a potential upside of 37.09%. Humana has a consensus target price of $599.72, suggesting a potential upside of 15.16%. Given Centene's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Centene is more favorable than Humana.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Centene	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.59
Humana	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.93

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in CNC or HUM?

Centene received 141 more outperform votes than Humana when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 73.72% of users gave Centene an outperform vote while only 64.69% of users gave Humana an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Centene	Outperform Votes 993 73.72%	Underperform Votes 354 26.28%
Humana	Outperform Votes 852 64.69%	Underperform Votes 465 35.31%

Summary

Humana beats Centene on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.