Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Short Interest Update

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,660,000 shares, a decline of 14.9% from the February 13th total of 4,300,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Humana Stock Performance

HUM opened at $266.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Humana has a 1-year low of $213.31 and a 1-year high of $406.46. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $271.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.13.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 1.02%. Research analysts predict that Humana will post 16.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.885 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HUM shares. StockNews.com lowered Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Humana from $257.00 to $256.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Humana from $301.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays upped their target price on Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $283.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $285.68.

Insider Activity at Humana

In related news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total value of $948,930.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,463.06. The trade was a 31.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Humana

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HUM. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in shares of Humana by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 10,198,040 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,587,345,000 after acquiring an additional 5,264,045 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Humana by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,829,210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,254,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751,857 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Humana during the 4th quarter valued at $416,202,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Humana by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,609,382 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $915,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,132 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in Humana by 435.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,098,702 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $279,236,000 after purchasing an additional 893,637 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.