Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.89

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of 0.885 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, July 26th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%.

Humana has increased its dividend payment by an average of 12.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 7 consecutive years. Humana has a dividend payout ratio of 15.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Humana to earn $22.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.54 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.5%.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HUM opened at $323.46 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $344.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $425.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market cap of $39.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.45. Humana has a 1 year low of $299.23 and a 1 year high of $541.21.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.87). The company had revenue of $26.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.47 billion. Humana had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The business’s revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Humana will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on HUM shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Humana in a report on Friday, January 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective (down previously from $530.00) on shares of Humana in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $465.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita purchased 545 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in Humana during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Humana during the first quarter worth about $28,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Humana during the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Humana by 33.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Humana by 82.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.