Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Short Interest Down 14.9% in February

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,660,000 shares, a decrease of 14.9% from the February 13th total of 4,300,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Humana Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HUM traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $266.33. 1,963,596 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,716,116. The stock has a market cap of $32.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.57. Humana has a fifty-two week low of $213.31 and a fifty-two week high of $406.46. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $271.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

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

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Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Humana's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Humana news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total transaction of $948,930.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. This trade represents a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Humana during the 4th quarter worth approximately $553,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new position in Humana during the fourth quarter worth approximately $888,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its stake in Humana by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 7,567 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Humana during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,397,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Humana by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,916 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HUM. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $283.00 price target on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Humana from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $285.68.

Humana Company Profile

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.