Humana (NYSE:HUM) Shares Down 2.1% After Analyst Downgrade

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)’s stock price fell 2.1% on Thursday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $415.00 to $353.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Humana traded as low as $308.19 and last traded at $309.41. 466,882 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 1,987,235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $315.98.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of Humana from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Humana in a research report on Friday, January 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Humana from $334.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Humana currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita purchased 545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HUM. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Humana by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,040,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $992,938,000 after acquiring an additional 119,760 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Humana by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,523,835 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $741,409,000 after acquiring an additional 402,559 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Humana in the 4th quarter valued at about $676,800,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Humana by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,327,489 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $645,850,000 after acquiring an additional 64,245 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in Humana in the 4th quarter valued at about $489,300,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Humana Stock Down 1.8 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $327.77 and a 200-day moving average of $394.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 1.82%. The business had revenue of $29.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Humana Inc. will post 16.06 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, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.04%.

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.