Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New $9.20 Million Investment in Humana Inc. $HUM

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 37,627 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,199,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Humana by 63.9% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 118 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Humana by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Humana by 3.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. raised its stake in shares of Humana by 0.9% during the second quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 6,369 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Humana by 2.8% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.38% of the company’s stock.

Humana Stock Performance

NYSE HUM opened at $223.18 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $266.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.25. The company has a market capitalization of $26.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.42. Humana Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.87 and a 1-year high of $315.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Humana (NYSE:HUM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $32.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.99 billion. Humana had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 1.28%.Humana’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Humana Inc. will post 16.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Humana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $0.885 dividend. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Humana’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on HUM. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Humana from $300.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Humana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Humana from $344.00 to $347.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Humana in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. They set an “in-line” rating and a $295.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Humana in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.67.

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.