Piper Sandler Lowers Humana (NYSE:HUM) to Neutral

by · The Cerbat Gem

Piper Sandler lowered shares of Humana (NYSE:HUM – Free Report) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $274.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $392.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on HUM. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $280.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Humana from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Humana from $332.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Humana from $341.00 to $349.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut Humana from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $376.00 to $247.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Humana presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $357.24.

Read Our Latest Report on HUM

Humana Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HUM opened at $240.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Humana has a 52 week low of $213.31 and a 52 week high of $530.54. The firm has a market cap of $28.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $337.70 and its 200-day moving average is $342.66.

Humana (NYSE:HUM – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.89 by $1.07. The company had revenue of $29.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.52 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 1.53%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Humana will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Humana’s payout ratio is currently 22.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Humana by 9.2% during the second quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of Humana by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 2,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 213 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Humana by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Humana by 111.4% during the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 74 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Humana

(Get Free Report)

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.

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