Humana (NYSE:HUM) Earns Neutral Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Humana (NYSE:HUM) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $391.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock.

HUM has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Humana from $427.00 to $396.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James started coverage on Humana in a report on Friday, March 22nd. They set a market perform rating for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an outperform rating and set a $630.00 price target on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, TheStreet cut Humana from a b rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $465.42.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HUM opened at $319.17 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Humana has a 12 month low of $299.23 and a 12 month high of $541.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $349.73 and a 200-day moving average of $431.90. The company has a market capitalization of $38.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.45.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.87). Humana had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $26.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Humana will post 16.02 EPS for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In other Humana news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita purchased 545 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,430,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 3,111 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,079,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Polianta Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 40.9% during the 1st quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 3,100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 57.1% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 102,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,645,000 after buying an additional 37,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stableford Capital II LLC grew its position in Humana by 55.6% during the 1st quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 5,080 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.