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Humana (HUM) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Humana (HUM - Free Report) closed at $503.78, marking a +0.85% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 3.06%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 2.8%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.16%.

Coming into today, shares of the health insurer had gained 3.12% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 2.73%, while the S&P 500 lost 6.15%.

Humana will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Humana to post earnings of $6.24 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 29.19%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $22.69 billion, up 9.62% from the year-ago period.

HUM's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $24.99 per share and revenue of $92.9 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +21.08% and +11.84%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Humana. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

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 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.64% higher within the past month. Humana is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Humana has a Forward P/E ratio of 19.99 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 19.22.

Meanwhile, HUM's PEG ratio is currently 1.45. 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. The Medical - HMOs was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.15 at yesterday's closing price.

The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 61, which puts it in the top 25% 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.

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


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