TD Cowen Issues Positive Forecast for Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock Price

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its target price upped by TD Cowen from $261.00 to $268.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

HUM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Humana from $380.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Humana from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $519.00 to $253.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered Humana from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $312.95.

Humana Stock Performance

NYSE HUM traded up $2.17 on Monday, hitting $257.72. 174,275 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,848,181. The business’s fifty day moving average is $295.11 and its 200 day moving average is $334.03. Humana has a 52 week low of $213.31 and a 52 week high of $527.18. The company has a market capitalization of $31.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $29.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.66 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. Research analysts anticipate that Humana will post 16.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s payout ratio is currently 31.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Humana

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in Humana by 137.9% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Humana in the 1st quarter valued at $46,885,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Humana in the 1st quarter valued at $1,871,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Humana by 100.4% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 24,089 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,352,000 after purchasing an additional 12,066 shares during the period. Finally, Ballast Inc. bought a new stake in Humana in the first quarter worth $666,000. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Humana Company Profile

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.