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

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,380,000 shares, an increase of 15.9% from the October 15th total of 3,780,000 shares. Approximately 3.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on HUM shares. Piper Sandler lowered Humana from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $392.00 to $274.00 in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Humana from $380.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Leerink Partners cut Humana from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Humana from $400.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Humana presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $315.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Humana by 11.2% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Humana during the first quarter worth $304,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Humana by 17.3% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 4,299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in shares of Humana by 22.1% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 983 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in Humana during the first quarter worth about $5,622,000. 92.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Humana Stock Performance

HUM stock traded down $7.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $275.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,842,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,875,008. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.61. Humana has a fifty-two week low of $213.31 and a fifty-two week high of $527.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.20%. Analysts predict that Humana will post 15.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.36%.

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.