Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Humana (NYSE:HUM) Price Target to $350.00

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its price objective cut by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $413.00 to $350.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.51% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Humana in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Humana from $550.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Humana from $450.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $465.42.

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of HUM opened at $319.62 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $350.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $432.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Humana has a 52 week low of $299.23 and a 52 week high of $541.21. The stock has a market cap of $38.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.45.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.87). Humana had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The company had revenue of $26.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Humana will post 16.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Humana

In related news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita acquired 545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Humana by 0.5% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,708,167 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,776,072,000 after purchasing an additional 25,832 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Humana by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,234,477 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,082,060,000 after buying an additional 16,692 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Humana by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,040,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $992,938,000 after acquiring an additional 119,760 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Humana by 35.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,523,835 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $741,409,000 after acquiring an additional 402,559 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Humana during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $676,800,000. Hedge funds and other 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.