Humana (NYSE:HUM) Given New $301.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Humana (NYSE:HUM) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $288.00 to $301.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 23.85% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HUM. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Humana from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Humana from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $519.00 to $253.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Humana from $349.00 to $250.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $300.50.

Humana Trading Down 6.7 %

HUM stock traded down $17.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $243.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,889,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,846,178. The company has a market cap of $29.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $274.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $323.77. 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 12 month low of $213.31 and a 12 month high of $475.00.

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, equities research analysts predict that Humana will post 16.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Humana by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 96,189 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,941,000 after buying an additional 4,757 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Humana by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,659 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,983,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Humana during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $549,000. Private Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Humana during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,293,000. Finally, &PARTNERS purchased a new stake in Humana during the 2nd quarter valued at $380,000. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Humana Company Profile

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.