Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM – Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,710,000 shares, a drop of 5.6% from the October 31st total of 2,870,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,030,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Humana Trading Up 2.1 %

HUM opened at $495.21 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $60.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.55. Humana has a 52 week low of $423.29 and a 52 week high of $553.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $502.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $483.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Humana (NYSE:HUM – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The insurance provider reported $7.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.15 by $0.63. Humana had a return on equity of 21.03% and a net margin of 2.95%. The company had revenue of $26.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Humana will post 28.28 EPS for the current year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 29th will be paid a $0.885 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 28th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Humana’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HUM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Humana from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. Stephens cut their target price on Humana from $575.00 to $570.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. TD Cowen cut their target price on Humana from $616.00 to $613.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Humana from $468.00 to $628.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Humana from $594.00 to $599.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.28.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Humana

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HUM. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Humana in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Humana in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 50.0% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 69 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 81.0% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 76 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 84.1% in the second quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 91.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Humana Company Profile (Get Free Report)

Humana Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health and well-being company in the United States. It operates through two segments, Insurance and CenterWell. The company offers medical and supplemental benefit plans to individuals. It also 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.

Further Reading

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Original: MarketBeat News Feed: Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Short Interest Update