Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Short Interest Update

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,580,000 shares, a drop of 11.6% from the January 15th total of 5,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 3.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In other Humana news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total value 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 represents a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in Humana by 244.0% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Humana during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Humana by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Humana during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Humana during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HUM has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Humana from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $247.00 to $308.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $285.68.

Humana Trading Down 5.7 %

HUM traded down $15.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $255.77. 2,862,870 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,707,253. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.56. Humana has a 1-year low of $213.31 and a 1-year high of $406.46. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $269.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 1.02%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Humana will post 16.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Humana's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.58%.

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.