Oppenheimer Lowers Humana (NYSE:HUM) Price Target to $370.00

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its price target lowered by Oppenheimer from $415.00 to $370.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Humana from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Humana in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. They issued a market perform rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Humana from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Humana from $550.00 to $430.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Humana from $450.00 to $385.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Eleven investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $433.74.

Humana Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Humana stock opened at $311.41 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Humana has a 12-month low of $299.23 and a 12-month high of $541.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $328.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $395.71.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.12 by $1.11. Humana had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $29.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.38 EPS. Humana’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Humana will post 16.06 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jorge S. Mesquita bought 545 shares of Humana stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $367.09 per share, with a total value of $200,064.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,358.02. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Humana

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in shares of Humana by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Humana by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 805 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in shares of Humana by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in shares of Humana by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 609 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Humana by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,926 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.