Humana (NYSE:HUM) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $269.04, but opened at $281.85. Humana shares last traded at $282.67, with a volume of 312,372 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HUM. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Humana from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $395.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Humana from $349.00 to $250.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Humana presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.00.

Humana Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $273.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $310.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.55.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $29.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.66 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 1.18%. Equities research analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 16.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s payout ratio is 31.36%.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In related news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total value of $948,930.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. This represents a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Humana

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,357,420 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,701,582,000 after purchasing an additional 53,272 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Humana by 23.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,388,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,073,387,000 after buying an additional 643,291 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Humana by 8.1% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,506,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $793,830,000 after buying an additional 187,903 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,425,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $532,564,000 after acquiring an additional 774,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,183,985 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $442,396,000 after acquiring an additional 24,842 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.