Leerink Partners Lowers Humana (NYSE:HUM) to Market Perform

Leerink Partners cut shares of Humana (NYSE:HUM) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $250.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $400.00.

HUM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Humana in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $374.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Humana from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stephens cut shares of Humana from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Humana from $341.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Humana in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set an overweight rating and a $392.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Humana has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $357.24.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HUM opened at $240.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $342.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.50. Humana has a 52 week low of $213.31 and a 52 week high of $530.54.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.89 by $1.07. Humana had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 1.53%. The company had revenue of $29.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Humana will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Humana’s payout ratio is 22.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Humana

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 2,775 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Humana during the fourth quarter worth $228,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in Humana during the 4th quarter valued at $440,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 240.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 18,711 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,209 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 21,092 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,657,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the period. 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.