Humana (NYSE: HUM) received a number of ratings updates from brokerages and research firms in the last week:

  • Humana had its “market perform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at BMO Capital Markets. They now have a $78.00 price target on the stock.
  • Humana ‘s EPS estimates were raised by analysts at Oppenheimer. They now have an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock.
  • Humana had its price target raised by analysts at Jefferies Group from $80.00 to $88.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. They wrote, “We are increasingly confident that HUM can get back to a 5% Retail MA margin in ’13, though perhaps not to prior year levels. HUM captured the higher medical expense trends in the “younger” Retail MA cohorts in its 2013 bids. The 1H trends have now stabilized. We are increasing our 2013 EPS by 3% (which was below consensus and guidance) and applying a somewhat higher multiple (11.3x) to our $88 PT (up from $80).”
  • Humana was downgraded by analysts at Goldman Sachs from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating. They now have a $77.00 price target on the stock. They wrote, “With this report, we downgrade Humana to Sell from Neutral, reflecting that the company derives a majority of its earnings, by our estimate, from the MA products that face significant headwinds and uncertainties as funding and other changes from health reform roll through. We think this will make P/E multiple recovery (expansion) difficult for HUM and there is downside risk to earnings as we enter the critical phase of MA payment transitions in 2014-2017. That said, our Sell rating on HUM is relative to our Neutral coverage view of Managed Care.”
  • Humana was downgraded by analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating. They now have a $83.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $89.00. They wrote, “The operating environment will be more difficult for MA plans under HC Reform and the reimbursement outlook in 2014 and 2015 create significant headwinds during a time period where cost trend is not likely to be as modest as it has been over the past few years, reducing the company’s margin for error. However, we expect 2013 guidance has reset the bar low and given HUM’s scale and track record, we believe that they will weather this storm better than most.”
  • Humana had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Wedbush. They now have a $102.00 price target on the stock.

Shares of Humana traded down 1.08% during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.415. Humana has a one year low of $59.92 and a one year high of $96.46. The company has a market cap of $10.825 billion and a P/E ratio of 9.26.

Humana Inc. (Humana) is a health care company. Humana operates in three segments: Retail, Employer Group, and Health and Well-Being Services.