Humana (NYSE:HUM) Rating Increased to Neutral at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Humana (NYSE:HUM) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Bank of America currently has $308.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $247.00.

HUM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Humana from $332.00 to $396.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Humana from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Humana from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Humana in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Humana from $349.00 to $250.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $315.86.

Humana Trading Down 0.1 %

HUM traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $288.36. 783,826 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,865,140. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $291.98 and a 200 day moving average of $333.24. Humana has a 12-month low of $213.31 and a 12-month high of $527.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $29.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.66 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Humana will post 16.15 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s payout ratio is 31.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Humana by 244.0% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Humana by 111.4% during the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 74 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in Humana in the third quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Humana in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Your Advocates Ltd. LLP grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 81.8% during the third quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 45 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.