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Humana (HUM) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Humana (HUM - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $472.92, moving -1.26% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.16%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.42%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.17%.

Coming into today, shares of the health insurer had gained 7.85% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 1.13%, while the S&P 500 lost 6.79%.

Humana will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 27, 2022. In that report, analysts expect Humana to post earnings of $7.67 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 11.32%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $23.39 billion, up 13.31% from the prior-year quarter.

HUM's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $24.65 per share and revenue of $93.09 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +19.43% and +12.08%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Humana should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Humana is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Humana is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.43. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 16.74, which means Humana is trading at a premium to the group.

Meanwhile, HUM's PEG ratio is currently 1.38. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Medical - HMOs stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.22 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 41, putting it in the top 17% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.

To follow HUM in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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