Humana (NYSE:HUM) Price Target Cut to $381.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its price objective reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $411.00 to $381.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on HUM. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Humana from $450.00 to $385.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Humana in a report on Friday, March 22nd. They set a market perform rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Humana from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Humana from a b rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Eleven equities research 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, Humana presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $433.74.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HUM opened at $311.41 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $328.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $395.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Humana has a 52 week low of $299.23 and a 52 week high of $541.21.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. The firm had revenue of $29.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.52 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.38 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Humana will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Humana’s payout ratio is currently 22.04%.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita acquired 545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at $946,358.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Humana by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,040,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $992,938,000 after purchasing an additional 119,760 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Humana by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,523,835 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $741,409,000 after purchasing an additional 402,559 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Humana during the 4th quarter worth approximately $676,800,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Humana by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,327,489 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $645,850,000 after purchasing an additional 64,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Humana during the 4th quarter worth approximately $489,300,000. Hedge funds and other 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.