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

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Barclays from $250.00 to $253.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 3.03% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Humana from $332.00 to $396.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler downgraded Humana from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $392.00 to $274.00 in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $402.00 to $261.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $315.48.

Humana Trading Down 2.0 %

HUM traded down $5.41 during trading on Thursday, reaching $260.91. 1,168,064 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,854,947. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $300.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $335.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.50. Humana has a one year low of $213.31 and a one year high of $527.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.68. Humana had a net margin of 1.53% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The firm had revenue of $29.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.66 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Humana will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in Humana by 137.9% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Humana during the first quarter valued at $281,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Humana during the first quarter valued at $1,195,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Humana by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 41,412 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,358,000 after buying an additional 3,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Humana by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,595,000 after buying an additional 2,240 shares in the last quarter. 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.