Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,240,000 shares, an increase of 6.2% from the August 31st total of 2,110,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Humana Price Performance

Shares of Humana stock opened at $279.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $346.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $343.73. Humana has a 12 month low of $276.80 and a 12 month high of $530.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.89 by $1.07. Humana had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 1.53%. The firm had revenue of $29.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Humana will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on HUM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Humana from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Humana from $341.00 to $349.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler began coverage on Humana in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $392.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Humana from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Humana from $396.00 to $407.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Thirteen 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $398.70.

Institutional Trading of Humana

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HUM. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Humana by 111.4% in the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 74 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Humana in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Humana in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Humana during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Humana during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.