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Valued at a market cap of $34.5 billion, Humana Inc. (HUM) is a health care plan provider that offers medical and specialty insurance products. The Louisville, Kentucky-based company serves millions of members across the country, focusing on seniors, military families, and individuals with complex healthcare needs. It is expected to announce its fiscal Q1 earnings for 2025 before the market opens on Wednesday, Apr. 30.
Ahead of this event, analysts expect this healthcare plans provider to report a profit of $9.95 per share, up 37.6% from $7.23 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has a solid trajectory of consistently beating Wall Street's earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters. In Q4 2024, HUM’s loss of $2.16 per share outpaced the forecasted figure by 4.4%.
For fiscal 2025, analysts expect HUM to report a profit of $16.28 per share, up marginally from $16.21 in fiscal 2024. However, in fiscal 2026, its EPS is expected to decline 19.2% year over year to $13.15.
HUM has fallen 10.7% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming both the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 4.7% rise, and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLV) nearly 3.2% decline over the same time frame.
On Apr. 8, shares of major health insurers rallied after the federal government announced a larger-than-expected payment increase for 2026 Medicare Advantage plans. Humana’s stock surged 10.7% in response to the positive news.
On Feb. 11, HUM’s shares fell 3.6%, despite delivering better-than-expected Q4 earnings results. It posted an adjusted loss of $2.16 per share, which widened from a loss of $0.11 recorded in the previous-year quarter, but exceeded the consensus estimates by 4.4%. Meanwhile, its adjusted revenue advanced 13.5% year-over-year to $29.2 billion, and topped the forecasted figure.
However, on the downside, the company expects individual medicare advantage membership to decline by about 550,000 in fiscal 2025. Further raising investor concerns, its benefits expense ratio increased to 91.5%, up from 90.7% a year ago, reflecting rising medical costs. These factors might have weighed on investor sentiments and led to HUM’s downward price movement.
Wall Street analysts are moderately optimistic about HUM’s stock, with a "Moderate Buy" rating overall. Among 24 analysts covering the stock, six recommend "Strong Buy," one suggests a “Moderate Buy,” and 17 advise “Hold.” The mean price target for Humana is $288.95, which indicates a slight 1.2% potential upside from the current levels.
