Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) to Issue $0.89 Quarterly Dividend

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of 0.885 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, July 26th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%.

Humana has increased its dividend by an average of 12.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 7 consecutive years. Humana has a dividend payout ratio of 15.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Humana to earn $22.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.54 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.5%.

Humana Stock Performance

NYSE HUM opened at $324.83 on Friday. Humana has a twelve month low of $299.23 and a twelve month high of $541.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $343.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $425.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $39.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.45.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $26.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Humana will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Humana

In other Humana news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita purchased 545 shares of Humana stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $367.09 per share, for a total transaction of $200,064.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,358.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in Humana during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Humana during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Humana in the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Humana by 33.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Humana by 82.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HUM. Stephens lowered their price target on Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet lowered Humana from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Humana from $450.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Argus lowered shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price (down from $530.00) on shares of Humana in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Humana has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $465.42.

Humana Company Profile

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.