Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Humana (HUM) Surpasses Market Returns: Some Facts Worth Knowing

Read MoreHide Full Article

The latest trading session saw Humana (HUM - Free Report) ending at $501.54, denoting a +0.68% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.63%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.59%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.39%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the health insurer had gained 6.51% over the past month. This has outpaced the Medical sector's loss of 1.62% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.39% in that time.

The upcoming earnings release of Humana will be of great interest to investors. On that day, Humana is projected to report earnings of $7.14 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 3.78%. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $25.34 billion, indicating a 11.16% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $28.26 per share and a revenue of $102.34 billion, demonstrating changes of +11.97% and +10.19%, respectively, from the preceding year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Humana. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.01% higher. Humana is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

In the context of valuation, Humana is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 17.63. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 16.02 of its industry.

Also, we should mention that HUM has a PEG ratio of 1.28. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Medical - HMOs industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.09 as of yesterday's close.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 75, this industry ranks in the top 30% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Humana Inc. (HUM) - free report >>

Published in