Humana (NYSE:HUM) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Humana (NYSE:HUM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Humana from $305.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays set a $268.00 price objective on Humana and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James upgraded Humana from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Humana from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $284.24.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of HUM opened at $235.58 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $249.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.98. Humana has a one year low of $212.45 and a one year high of $406.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $28.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.43.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $11.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.07 by $1.51. The business had revenue of $32.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 1.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Humana will post 16.47 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HUM. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Humana in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Humana during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 63.9% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 118 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Humana during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.