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Louisville, Kentucky-based Humana Inc. (HUM) is a healthcare plan provider, committed to helping people lead a healthy and happy life. With a market cap of $31.3 billion, Humana offers medical and specialty insurance products in the United States and operates through Insurance and CenterWell segments.
The healthcare major has significantly underperformed the broader market over the past year. HUM stock has plummeted 30.6% over the past 52 weeks and 33 basis points in 2025, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 23.5% surge over the past year and 4% gains on a YTD basis.
Zooming in further, Humana has also underperformed the iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF’s (IHF) 1.2% dip over the past year and 9.7% surge on a YTD basis.
Humana’s stock prices fell by 3.6% after the release of its mixed Q4 results on Feb. 11. Driven by the robust growth in premium collection, the company’s overall revenues surged 10.4% year-over-year to $29.2 billion, exceeding the Street’s expectations by 1.1%. However, its operating expenses grew even faster, rising by 11% year-over-year to $29.8 billion, resulting in an increased operating loss of $543 million, compared to the $348 million loss reported in the same quarter last year. On a brighter note, Humana’s adjusted loss of $2.16 per share was better than Wall Street’s expectations.
For the current fiscal 2025, ending in December, HUM is expected to report a modest 1.7% year-over-year growth in EPS to $16.49. On a positive note, the company has a promising earnings surprise history. It has surpassed the Street’s bottom-line estimates in each of the past four quarters.
Among the 23 analysts covering the HUM stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on five “Strong Buy,” one “Moderate Buy,” and 17 “Hold” ratings.
This configuration is slightly less bullish than three months ago when six analysts gave “Strong Buy” recommendations.
On Feb. 12, RBC Capital analyst Ben Hendrix reiterated a “Buy” rating on Humana, while setting a price target of $283.
HUM’s mean price target of $284.20 represents a 12.4% premium to current price levels, while its street-high target of $337 indicates a staggering 33.3% upside potential.
