Humana (NYSE:HUM) Lifted to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Humana (NYSE:HUM – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Humana from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $575.00 to $652.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 13th. Cowen dropped their target price on Humana from $647.00 to $581.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Humana from $625.00 to $590.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Humana from $575.00 to $562.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Humana from $630.00 to $625.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Humana presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $594.12.

Humana Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HUM opened at $495.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $61.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Humana has a 12-month low of $410.87 and a 12-month high of $571.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $494.78 and a 200-day moving average of $507.54.

Humana (NYSE:HUM – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $22.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.45 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 20.50% and a net margin of 3.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Humana will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from Humana’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Humana

In other news, Director David A. Jr/Ky Jones sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.72, for a total value of $7,525,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 42,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,086,288.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director David A. Jr/Ky Jones sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.72, for a total value of $7,525,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 42,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,086,288.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bruce D. Broussard sold 17,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.85, for a total value of $8,890,313.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,429,734. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,623 shares of company stock valued at $17,456,436 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Humana

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Humana by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $775,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,913 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 441 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 624 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 13,337 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. 93.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Humana Company Profile

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Humana Inc engages in the provision of health insurance services. It operates through the Insurance and CenterWell segments. The Insurance segment consists of Medicare benefits, marketed to individuals or directly via group Medicare accounts, as well as contract with CMS to administer the Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition, or LI-NET, prescription drug plan program and contracts with various states to provide Medicaid, dual eligible demonstration, and Long-Term Support Services benefits, which refer to as state-based contracts.