Bank of America Raises Humana (NYSE:HUM) Price Target to $376.00

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its price objective raised by Bank of America from $342.00 to $376.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on HUM. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Humana from $334.00 to $326.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Humana from $411.00 to $381.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Humana from $450.00 to $385.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Humana from $356.00 to $310.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eleven equities 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 currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $426.39.

Humana Stock Performance

HUM stock opened at $356.61 on Monday. Humana has a one year low of $298.61 and a one year high of $530.54. The firm has a market cap of $42.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $322.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $373.47.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $29.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.38 earnings per share. Humana’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Humana will post 16.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUM. Berger Financial Group Inc lifted its stake in Humana by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 9,586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,664,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Montag & Caldwell LLC raised its holdings in shares of Humana by 124.6% during the third quarter. Montag & Caldwell LLC now owns 2,536 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Humana by 0.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 40,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,924,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 3.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syon Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Humana during the third quarter worth approximately $551,000. 92.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.