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Humana (HUM) Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market: Some Facts to Know

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Humana (HUM - Free Report) closed at $515.48 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.09% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.17%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.58%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.27%.

Coming into today, shares of the health insurer had gained 5.48% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 5.22%, while the S&P 500 lost 3.95%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Humana in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on November 1, 2023. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $7.14, signifying a 3.78% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. 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.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $28.29 per share and revenue of $102.34 billion, indicating changes of +12.08% and +10.19%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Humana should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.11% higher within the past month. At present, Humana boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Humana's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 18.42. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 16.78.

It's also important to note that HUM currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.34. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. HUM's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.15 as of yesterday's close.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 73, finds itself in the top 29% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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