Humana (NYSE:HUM) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $271.30, but opened at $258.00. Humana shares last traded at $258.05, with a volume of 400,989 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUM has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Humana from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Humana from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Humana from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Humana from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $308.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $285.68.

Humana Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $269.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $31.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.56.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a net margin of 1.02% and a return on equity of 11.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 EPS for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.885 per share. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Humana’s payout ratio is 35.58%.

Insider Activity at Humana

In other news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,463.06. This trade represents a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Humana during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Humana during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Humana during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Your Advocates Ltd. LLP grew its stake in Humana by 81.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 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.