Traders Buy Large Volume of Humana Call Options (NYSE:HUM)

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 8,702 call options on the company. This is an increase of 43% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,078 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on HUM. Bank of America upgraded Humana from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 27th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Humana from a “hold” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $463.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Humana from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $227.00 to $502.00 in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on shares of Humana in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $453.30.

More Humana News

Here are the key news stories impacting Humana this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock partnership provides capital for CenterWell expansion. Humana formed a joint venture with funds managed by BlackRock to operate nearly 150 CenterWell Senior Primary Care clinics. BlackRock will hold the majority stake, while CenterWell retains a minority interest. The reported $2.8 billion transaction should provide funding for clinic growth while reducing the amount of capital and liabilities Humana must carry on its balance sheet. Humana Announces New Strategic Joint Venture with BlackRock
• Positive Sentiment: The deal strengthens Humana’s strategy of expanding CenterWell’s senior-focused primary-care platform. Investors may view the outside capital and BlackRock’s involvement as improving the economics and scalability of the business, although Humana will give up majority ownership of the clinic venture. Humana’s CenterWell Expansion Gets a Boost From BlackRock’s Capital
• Positive Sentiment: A report said Humana expects roughly 95% of its Medicare members to be enrolled in four-star plans, up sharply from 20%. Higher quality ratings can support stronger Medicare Advantage bonus payments, member retention and plan competitiveness, potentially improving Humana’s earnings outlook. Humana Four-Star Plan Report
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target on HUM to $495 from $468 and maintained an “outperform” rating, reinforcing bullish Wall Street sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high call-option activity and strength across major managed-care stocks indicate bullish positioning and sector support, but options trading does not directly change Humana’s fundamentals.
• Neutral Sentiment: Humana’s Medicare Advantage coverage decision for AngioDynamics’ NanoKnife cancer treatment could broaden patient access, but the financial impact on Humana is unclear and may depend on treatment utilization and medical costs. AngioDynamics Humana Coverage Policy
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm issued a shareholder-investigation notice concerning Humana insiders. The announcement contains no established finding of wrongdoing and appears primarily promotional, but it introduces a potential legal-overhang risk.

Humana Stock Performance

Humana stock opened at $428.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $51.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. Humana has a 1-year low of $163.11 and a 1-year high of $456.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $392.25 and a 200-day moving average of $340.06.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $7.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.27 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $40.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.58 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 0.88%. Humana’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.27 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Humana will post 9.03 EPS for the current year.

Humana Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.8850 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Humana’s payout ratio is 33.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humana

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Humana by 58.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 527 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Humana in the third quarter worth $804,000. Krilogy Financial LLC increased its position in Humana by 11.2% during the third quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $934,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. purchased a new stake in Humana during the third quarter valued at $12,323,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Humana by 27.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Humana Company Profile

Humana Inc is a health and well-being company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Founded in 1961, the company began as a nursing home operator before expanding into hospitals and health insurance. Today, Humana primarily provides health insurance products and healthcare services for older adults, individuals, military families and other members in the United States.

Humana’s insurance business offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement and prescription drug plans, as well as Medicaid coverage in select markets.