Humana (NYSE:HUM) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $253.00 to $255.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Approximately 2,818,103 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 116% from the previous session’s volume of 1,305,321 shares.The stock last traded at $288.34 and had previously closed at $284.92.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on HUM. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $395.00 target price on shares of Humana in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Twenty 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 stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total transaction of $948,930.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares in the company, valued at $2,096,463.06. The trade was a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Humana

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 244.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 86 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in Humana during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Humana during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP boosted 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its position in Humana by 1,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 92.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Humana Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $273.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.88.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.68. Humana had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 1.18%. The company had revenue of $29.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.66 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current year.

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.