Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $300.50.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HUM shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Humana from $400.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Humana in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Humana from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total transaction of $948,930.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,096,463.06. This trade represents a 31.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Humana by 244.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Humana during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Humana in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP lifted its stake in Humana by 81.8% in the third quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in Humana during the second quarter valued at $40,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Humana Trading Up 3.9 %

NYSE:HUM traded up $9.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $262.47. 1,373,823 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,126,161. Humana has a fifty-two week low of $213.31 and a fifty-two week high of $471.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $313.71.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.68. Humana had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. The company had revenue of $29.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.66 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Humana will post 16.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Humana's payout ratio is 31.36%.

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.