Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock Price

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $288.00 to $301.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 23.85% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on HUM. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Humana from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $395.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Humana presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.50.

Humana Trading Down 6.7 %

Shares of HUM stock traded down $17.43 on Tuesday, reaching $243.03. 1,889,458 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,846,178. Humana has a 1-year low of $213.31 and a 1-year high of $475.00. The stock has a market cap of $29.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $274.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $323.77.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $29.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.66 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 1.18%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Humana will post 16.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Humana

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Humana by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,357,420 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,701,582,000 after buying an additional 53,272 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 23.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,388,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,073,387,000 after purchasing an additional 643,291 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 8.1% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,506,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $793,830,000 after purchasing an additional 187,903 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 16.1% during the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,311,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $863,640,000 after purchasing an additional 321,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 118.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,425,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $532,564,000 after purchasing an additional 774,085 shares in the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.