Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) Short Interest Down 11.6% in January

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,580,000 shares, a decrease of 11.6% from the January 15th total of 5,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Humana Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE HUM traded up $3.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $257.24. 1,418,958 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,706,863. Humana has a 52 week low of $213.31 and a 52 week high of $406.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $270.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.21. The stock has a market cap of $30.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported ($2.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.26) by $0.10. Humana had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 1.18%. Analysts forecast that Humana will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Humana

In other news, insider Timothy S. Huval sold 3,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.26, for a total value of $948,930.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,463.06. This represents a 31.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Humana by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Humana by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 6,352 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Humana by 2.5% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Humana by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 236 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Humana by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 208 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Humana from $387.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Humana from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $283.00 target price on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Humana currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.68.

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.