Humana (NYSE:HUM) Upgraded by Wolfe Research to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Humana (NYSE:HUM) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on HUM. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Humana in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded Humana from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Humana in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Humana from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $279.30.

Humana Stock Up 6.8%

HUM opened at $349.87 on Thursday. Humana has a 12 month low of $163.11 and a 12 month high of $351.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market cap of $42.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $244.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.58.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $10.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.97 by $0.34. Humana had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 0.82%.The firm had revenue of $39.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Humana has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.000- EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Humana will post 9 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Humana by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,261,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,890,000 after purchasing an additional 106,030 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Humana by 113.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,818,008 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,490,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,097,571 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Humana by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,470,982 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $948,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,774 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Humana by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,462,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,403,877,000 after purchasing an additional 97,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Humana by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,496,775 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,151,759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,514 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Humana

Humana Inc (NYSE: HUM) is a health insurance company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that primarily serves individuals and groups across the United States. The company is best known for its Medicare business, offering Medicare Advantage plans and prescription drug (Part D) coverage, alongside a range of commercial and employer-sponsored group health plans. Humana’s products are designed to cover medical, behavioral health and pharmacy needs for members, with particular emphasis on seniors and Medicare-eligible populations.

In addition to traditional insurance products, Humana provides care-management and wellness services intended to support chronic-condition management, preventive care and care coordination.