Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Barclays from $255.00 to $270.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 5.35% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $283.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Humana from $301.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.05.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of HUM stock traded down $3.74 during trading on Thursday, reaching $256.30. The company had a trading volume of 152,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,638,022. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $272.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $295.47. Humana has a one year low of $213.31 and a one year high of $406.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The company has a market capitalization of $30.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of Humana stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,463.06. This trade represents a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Humana

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Humana by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. boosted its stake in Humana by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 6,352 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in Humana by 2.5% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 236 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Humana by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 208 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by 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.