Humana (NYSE:HUM) Rating Lowered to Neutral at Piper Sandler

Humana (NYSE:HUM) was downgraded by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $274.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $392.00. Piper Sandler’s target price points to a potential upside of 14.15% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $395.00 price target on shares of Humana in a report on Tuesday. Leerink Partners cut shares of Humana from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partnrs cut Humana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens lowered Humana from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Humana from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Humana currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.24.

Humana Price Performance

NYSE HUM opened at $240.03 on Thursday. Humana has a 12 month low of $213.31 and a 12 month high of $530.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $337.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $342.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.89 by $1.07. Humana had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 1.53%. The firm had revenue of $29.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Humana will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Humana by 538.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,318,347 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $866,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955,375 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 11,647.2% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,059,478 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $367,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050,459 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,425,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $532,564,000 after acquiring an additional 774,085 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Humana by 550.3% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 875,489 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $400,808,000 after acquiring an additional 740,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Humana in the 1st quarter worth approximately $158,813,000. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

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.