Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Short Interest Down 11.6% in January

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,580,000 shares, a decline of 11.6% from the January 15th total of 5,180,000 shares. Currently, 3.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,790,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Insider Activity at Humana

In other Humana news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total transaction of $948,930.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,181 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,463.06. This represents a 31.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in Humana by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,198,040 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,587,345,000 after acquiring an additional 5,264,045 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,829,210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,254,899,000 after buying an additional 1,751,857 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Humana during the 4th quarter worth approximately $416,202,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,609,382 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $915,736,000 after buying an additional 1,103,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 435.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,098,702 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $279,236,000 after buying an additional 893,637 shares during the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of HUM stock traded up $3.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $257.24. 1,418,958 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,706,863. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $270.62 and a 200 day moving average of $292.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Humana has a 52-week low of $213.31 and a 52-week high of $406.46. The company has a market cap of $30.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.56.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. Research analysts anticipate that Humana will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on HUM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays upped their target price on Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Humana from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Humana from $301.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Humana currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $285.68.

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.