Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Humana (NYSE:HUM) Stock

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $270.00 to $288.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.63% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on HUM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Humana from $349.00 to $250.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Humana from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $519.00 to $253.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners downgraded Humana from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $400.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.70.

Humana Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:HUM traded down $2.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $280.62. 339,078 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,214,108. The firm has a market cap of $33.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $274.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $309.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Humana has a fifty-two week low of $213.31 and a fifty-two week high of $455.53.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its quarterly 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 company 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Humana will post 16.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total transaction of $948,930.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,463.06. This represents a 31.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HUM. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Humana during the third quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Humana during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP raised its holdings in Humana by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in Humana during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by 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.