Brokerages Set Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Target Price at $468.74

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $465.42.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HUM shares. TheStreet downgraded shares of Humana from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Stephens reduced their target price on Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Humana from $450.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $595.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 25th.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HUM opened at $316.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $348.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $431.10. Humana has a 12 month low of $299.23 and a 12 month high of $541.21.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.87). Humana had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $26.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Humana will post 16.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita bought 545 shares of Humana stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,358.02. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HUM. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of Humana by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 5,709 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,484,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 0.6% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,463,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Humana by 0.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,135,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Humana by 19.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 29,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,971,000 after buying an additional 5,964 shares during the period. 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.