Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Humana (NYSE:HUM)

Humana (NYSE:HUM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $283.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.30% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HUM. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Humana from $301.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Humana from $253.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Humana from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $247.00 to $308.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.26.

Humana Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of HUM traded up $3.97 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $261.31. 1,014,058 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,631,401. The company has a market cap of $31.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $273.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.72. Humana has a 12-month low of $213.31 and a 12-month high of $406.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. Research analysts forecast that Humana will post 16.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of Humana stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total transaction of $948,930.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. The trade was a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Humana by 244.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Humana in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP increased its stake in shares of Humana by 81.8% during the third quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Humana during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Humana in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Humana

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.