StockNews.com Downgrades Humana (NYSE:HUM) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Humana (NYSE:HUM - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

HUM has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $283.00 price target on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Humana from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $308.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Humana from $301.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $285.68.

Humana Trading Down 0.3 %

HUM traded down $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $262.10. 1,033,808 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,681,929. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.08. The firm has a market cap of $31.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.57. Humana has a 1 year low of $213.31 and a 1 year high of $406.46.

Humana (NYSE:HUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 expect that Humana will post 16.47 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

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 $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Humana's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.58%.

Insider Activity at Humana

In other news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares 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 buying an additional 61 shares during the period. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Humana during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Humana during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Humana in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its stake in shares of Humana by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 125 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company's stock.

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.