Humana (NYSE:HUM) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $288.12, but opened at $273.00. Humana shares last traded at $276.77, with a volume of 561,661 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Humana from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Humana from $332.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Humana has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $315.86.

Humana Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $286.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $332.44. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $33.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.52.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $29.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.66 billion. Humana had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Humana Inc. will post 15.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s payout ratio is 31.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 68.3% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,141 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Humana during the third quarter valued at $404,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 12.2% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 14,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 3.3% during the third quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 31,849 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Finally, Journey Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 7.8% during the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.