Humana (NYSE:HUM) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $237.96, but opened at $245.00. Humana shares last traded at $241.63, with a volume of 306,526 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HUM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Humana from $325.00 to $305.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Humana from $270.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Humana from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Humana from $305.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Humana from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.81.

Humana Trading Up 3.7%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $262.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $29.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.49.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $11.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.07 by $1.51. The business had revenue of $32.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 1.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.23 EPS. Analysts predict that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Humana’s payout ratio is currently 25.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HUM. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Humana by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,969 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Humana by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC boosted its holdings in Humana by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 905 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Humana in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $822,000. Finally, Willner & Heller LLC boosted its holdings in Humana by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

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.