Analysts Set Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) PT at $315.86

Shares of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $315.86.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HUM. Leerink Partners downgraded Humana from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $400.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Humana from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of Humana in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Humana from $400.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HUM opened at $271.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Humana has a 1 year low of $213.31 and a 1 year high of $527.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.59. The firm has a market cap of $32.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.52.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $29.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.66 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Humana will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is 31.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Humana by 538.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,318,347 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $866,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955,375 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in shares of Humana by 11,647.2% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,059,478 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $367,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050,459 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Humana by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,425,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $532,564,000 after acquiring an additional 774,085 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Humana by 261,025.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,984 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,340,660,000 after acquiring an additional 738,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Humana by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,388,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,073,387,000 after acquiring an additional 643,291 shares during 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.