Humana (NYSE:HUM) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Humana (NYSE:HUM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on HUM. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Humana from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Humana from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $513.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Humana from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Humana to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Humana from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Humana currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $453.30.

Humana Trading Down 1.3%

HUM opened at $416.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $50.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $397.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.26. Humana has a one year low of $163.11 and a one year high of $456.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $7.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.27 by $0.34. Humana had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 0.88%. The firm had revenue of $40.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Humana will post 9.03 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.8850 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Humana’s payout ratio is presently 33.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 24.6% in the second quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 167 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Humana by 1.1% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Humana by 192.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 73 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its position in Humana by 0.9% during the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 5,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Humana Company Profile

Humana Inc is a health and well-being company that provides insurance products and health care services in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company’s primary business is government-sponsored health coverage, particularly Medicare Advantage plans for older adults, along with Medicare prescription drug plans, Medicaid coverage and certain commercial health insurance products.

Humana also operates CenterWell, its health care services platform focused on older adults. CenterWell includes primary care clinics, home health services and pharmacy services, with an emphasis on coordinated care, chronic-condition management and helping members receive care in lower-cost settings.

Founded in 1961 as a nursing-home company, Humana expanded into hospital operations before shifting its focus toward health insurance and related services.