Humana Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:HUM)

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 32,654 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 150% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,059 put options.

Humana Price Performance

NYSE:HUM traded down $7.23 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $253.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 725,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,850,893. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $297.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $334.52. The company has a market capitalization of $30.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Humana has a twelve month low of $213.31 and a twelve month high of $527.18.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $29.30 billion during 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Humana will post 16.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Humana’s payout ratio is 31.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Humana by 111.4% in the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 74 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Humana by 244.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in Humana during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Humana during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Humana during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HUM. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Humana from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen cut Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $402.00 to $261.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Humana from $332.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Humana from $400.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $312.62.

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.