Humana (NYSE:HUM) was upgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $221.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock. Jefferies Group’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 17.54% from the company’s previous close.
Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Credit Suisse Group assumed coverage on Humana in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Investment Research lowered Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. ValuEngine lowered Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Humana from $276.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 9th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Humana presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.90.
Shares of Humana (HUM) opened at $268.02 on Friday. Humana has a 12-month low of $186.25 and a 12-month high of $271.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $38,289.34, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.88.
Humana declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
In other Humana news, SVP Jody L. Bilney sold 7,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.89, for a total transaction of $1,748,616.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,901,304.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brian P. Leclaire sold 1,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.97, for a total value of $412,983.63. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,432,151.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,115 shares of company stock worth $2,501,627. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Koch Industries Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Humana during the second quarter worth about $404,000. Adviser Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Humana during the third quarter worth about $635,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 10.0% during the third quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,653,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $402,799,000 after purchasing an additional 150,173 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Bank of Australia grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 3.9% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Bank of Australia now owns 21,112 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,138,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Icon Advisers Inc. Co. grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 22.7% during the third quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. now owns 5,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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About Humana
Humana Inc is a health and well-being company. The Company’s segments include Retail, Group and Specialty, Healthcare Services and Individual Commercial. The Retail segment consists of Medicare benefits, as well as individual commercial fully insured medical and specialty health insurance benefits, including dental, vision, and other supplemental health and financial protection products.
