Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

by · The Markets Daily

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,780,000 shares, a growth of 41.6% from the September 30th total of 2,670,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUM has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Humana from $380.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $519.00 to $253.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Humana from $400.00 to $260.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Humana from $349.00 to $250.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $315.33.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on HUM

Humana Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HUM traded down $3.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $257.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,774,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,851,010. Humana has a one year low of $213.31 and a one year high of $527.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $302.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $335.58. The firm has a market cap of $31.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.50.

Humana (NYSE:HUM – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.89 by $1.07. The firm had revenue of $29.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.52 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 1.53%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Humana will post 16.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HUM. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Humana by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 105,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,567,000 after purchasing an additional 3,085 shares during the period. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Humana during the second quarter valued at about $3,456,000. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 115.4% in the third quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 14,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,434,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. grew its stake in Humana by 3.0% during the second quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 67,669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Humana by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 61,897 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $21,462,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Humana Company Profile

(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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