Comments for HUM - Stockpickr! Your Source for Stock Ideas

Comments for HUM

Added By	Comments	Type	Date Added
barrons3	Even better for the bulls, as we go into 2010 we will have seen the high-water mark of what Wall Street views as radicalism in Congress. That means you can see earnings per share increase and multiples expand for Humana (HUM), WellPoint (WLP), Aetna (AET) and Cigna (CI).	Love	November 12, 2009
barrons3	He said he'd even short stocks such as WellPoint (WLP), Humana (HUM) and UnitedHealth (UNH), even though the long-term picture might be sound. He said people overreact when they hear the term "public option" and begin to short these stocks, and "Washington doesn't care what happens to stocks." In the end, Cramer said, it won't hurt the stocks, "but who wants to be long?"	Love	October 29, 2009
barrons3	The public option is back on board, thanks to Harry Reid, so the notion that health care is finished and that Washington can focus on creating jobs is now a total pipe dream. More pain for UnitedHealth Group (UNH), WellPoint (WLP) and Humana (HUM).	Love	October 29, 2009
barrons3	Borsch is wary of Humana because it gets about 70% of its profits from Medicare Advantage. Humana carries the lowest valuation in the group for this very reason. Borsch likes Cigna, which admittedly has a grab-bag of assets, because of its minimal exposure to at-risk insurance programs and its low valuation.	Love	October 24, 2009
PATRN	NO PERFORMING AS IT SHOULD	Hate	October 07, 2009
barrons3	Two weeks ago, the charts of HMOs such as UnitedHealth (UNH), WellPoint (WLP) and Humana (HUM) were "fine and dandy," but in the last 10 days, Cramer said, they "have all broken down."	Love	October 01, 2009
Don Spicehandler	for now... when the public option goes away and for sept. oct.	Love	September 04, 2009
barrons3	I continue to believe that Wellpoint (WLP), UnitedHealth (UNH), Cigna (CI), Aetna (AET) and Humana (HUM) can be bought off this Senate shift.	Love	September 03, 2009
barrons3	Hold - Price 28.56 on July 14 by Standard & Poor's Equity Research Downgraded from Buy. The Defense Department [will award] UnitedHealth the managed-care contract for Tricare in the South as of April 1, 2010. We find the move unexpected, as HUM [has] participated in Tricare since '96. HUM plans to evaluate its options and could protest the award...[but we] think it will seek ways to compensate for [that] $3.73 billion contract. [With new assumptions, we're cutting] our '10 EPS estimate by 60 cents, to $5.25, and our target price by $3, to $32. Market cap: $4.84 billion.	Love	July 18, 2009
barrons3	Buy - Price 29.25 on April 28 by Hilliard Lyons Humana's 1Q09 earnings rebounded strongly from a depressed level in the previous year [to] EPS of $1.22, versus 47 cents in 1Q08, and four cents ahead of expectations... .Medicare Advantage membership rose 16% from a year ago, to 1.47 million. HUM added 33,000 members in 1Q and another 13,600 in April, for 46,600 total, close to the 2009 target of 50,000. Revenue for the quarter rose 11%, to $7.71 billion, from $6.96 billion last year. We feel HUM has a valuable franchise in its Medicare business. The current political environment may not be as hospitable to private-sector plans; there could be pressure on reimbursement. We believe the stock reflects the situation. We have lowered our target to what we feel is a more reasonable 45. Market cap: $4.4 billion.	Love	May 02, 2009
barrons3	He's waging war against the health maintenance organizations, the cost containers. He's changing the rules on Medicare in a way that Humana (HUM) or UnitedHealth (UNH) never thought was possible.	Love	February 26, 2009
barrons3	Buy - Price $37.93 on Feb. 2 by Hilliard Lyons [This health-services and benefits provider reported] 4Q earnings in line with expectations. EPS of $1.03 declined from $1.43 in 4Q07...at the lower end of management's guidance of $1 to $1.10. Lower earnings from the standalone Medicare prescription-drug plan and seasonality were factors...Humana also had four cents a share in investment impairments in the quarter. Membership targets were largely achieved....Commercial revenue rose 10%, as acquisitions contributed. Government revenue increased 22%, as Medicare Advantage premiums grew 29%.... [Otherwise,] operations performed well. Market cap: $6.4 billion.	Love	February 07, 2009
skunkcr44	Health care	Love	January 06, 2009
barrons3	But there also could be some winners in health care. Cliggott thinks generic drug maker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA) could benefit from any assault on drug pricing. And the CEO of managed-care company Humana (HUM), Michael McAllister, has said that his company can benefit by bringing technology systems and other efficiencies to the insurance market. Medco Health Solutions (MHS) and Express Scripts (ESRX) also could benefit, as each offers pharmacy-benefits services.	Love	November 08, 2008
stockerblog	PE of 6, and a PEG of 0.50.	Love	October 15, 2008
sarah z	Louisville’s healthcare provider announced that its board increased the company’s buyback program to $250 million. This amount excludes the $92.8 million used during the last repurchase authorization of $150 million, which was initiated in February 2008. The repurchases can be made at any time as long as they are before the expiration date of December 31, 2009. After Humana’s second quarter results beat everyone’s estimates, the stock jumped 6% in Monday trading. The company earned $209.9 million, or $1.24 a share, a slight drop from the year-ago period when Humana earned $216.8 million, or $1.28 a share. Humana was expecting $1.15 to $1.20 a share while Wall St. was anticipating $1.18 a share. Revenue for the quarter was $7.35 billion compared to last year’s $6.43 billion. The company added that the better-than-expected results were due to surprise results in its Medicare Prescription Drug Plan. Humana increased its full year forecast to $4.30 to $4.40 a share from its previous expectation of $4.10 to $4.35 a share. Analysts are expecting $4.23 a share Humana also recently agreed to purchase Cariten from Knoxville, Tenn.-based Covenant Health for about $245 million in cash. The deal will close in the fourth quarter of this year. Oppenheimer research has an outperform rating on the stock and was bullish on the company’s surprising second-quarter and the Cariten purchase. The Cariten acquisition could add over $0.10 to EPS next year and 2% to Humana’s earnings growth rate in 2009. The 12-18 month target is set at $76, offering huge upside potential.	Love	August 27, 2008
sarah z	Louisville’s healthcare provider announced that its board increased the company’s buyback program to $250 million. This amount excludes the $92.8 million used during the last repurchase authorization of $150 million, which was initiated in February 2008. The repurchases can be made at any time as long as they are before the expiration date of December 31, 2009. After Humana’s second quarter results beat everyone’s estimates, the stock jumped 6% in Monday trading. The company earned $209.9 million, or $1.24 a share, a slight drop from the year-ago period when Humana earned $216.8 million, or $1.28 a share. Humana was expecting $1.15 to $1.20 a share while Wall St. was anticipating $1.18 a share. Revenue for the quarter was $7.35 billion compared to last year’s $6.43 billion. The company added that the better-than-expected results were due to surprise results in its Medicare Prescription Drug Plan. Humana increased its full year forecast to $4.30 to $4.40 a share from its previous expectation of $4.10 to $4.35 a share. Analysts are expecting $4.23 a share Humana also recently agreed to purchase Cariten from Knoxville, Tenn.-based Covenant Health for about $245 million in cash. The deal will close in the fourth quarter of this year. Oppenheimer research has an outperform rating on the stock and was bullish on the company’s surprising second-quarter and the Cariten purchase. The Cariten acquisition could add over $0.10 to EPS next year and 2% to Humana’s earnings growth rate in 2009. The 12-18 month target is set at $76, offering huge upside potential.	Love	August 13, 2008
barrons2	Buy - Price 44.98 on March 18 by Hilliard Lyons Upgrading Humana to Buy, from Neutral, following the recent decline in the stock price. Over two days, HUM shares fell when a competitor lowered earnings expectations, followed by reduced guidance from HUM. The shares rebounded, but we feel the price is still attractive and reflects risk of further estimate changes and large exposure to government programs. Humana lowered earnings expectations for '08 based on higher costs in its standalone Medicare prescription-drug program. [Humana seems] to be experiencing some growing pains with this product...EPS for 2008 could be $4.15, versus our earlier estimate of $5.40....With elections in November...more hostile rhetoric toward the private sector could cause volatility in managed-care stocks [later in '08]....Humana has traded at price/earnings multiples in upper teens when superior growth was reported, and single-digit P/Es when prospects were not as optimistic...about 13 times would be appropriate and consistent with a long-term average for HUM. Applying this to our '08 EPS estimate results in our target, 55. Market-cap: $7.6 billion.	Love	March 22, 2008
barrons2	I bought Cigna (CI), Humana (HUM) and Coventry (CVH) on Wednesday, Jenner says. I think all have the potential to be up at least 25% over the next 12 months.	Love	March 18, 2008
tsrowlands	Oversold	Love	March 15, 2008
cpirner	Will overcome recent beating	Love	March 15, 2008
sarah z	Humana (HUM) recently announced a share buyback of up to $150 million. Judging by recent operating results, management's bullishness appears to be justified. Humana's fourth-quarter 2007 profits jumped 57% to $243 million, boosted by a one-time gains and a lower tax rate. EPS came in at $1.43, $0.11 ahead of the Wall Street forecasts. Also, the Louisville, KY-based health insurer's profit growth was far more impressive than peers Wellpoint (WLP) and UnitedHealth (UNH), which boosted year-over-year EPS 7% and 3%, respectively. On the heels of strong results, Humana raised its earnings guidance for 2008 to between $5.35 and $5.55, leading the consensus forecast to rise $0.07 to $5.50. Humana earned $4.91 a share in 2007. While Medicare Advantage (MA) membership rose by 14%, the quarterly benefits ratio (benefit expenses as a percent of premium revenue) came down by 290 basis points to 80.3%. Humana ended the fourth quarter with 1.14 million patients enrolled in its MA plans. That metric rose to 1.24 million at the end of January, and Humana aims to add between 200,000 and 250,000 additional members in 2008. Of course, recent cuts in funding for government-sponsored programs like Medicare and Medicaid could pressure Humana's top and bottom lines. To offset potential regulatory limits in the government-sponsored programs, Humana is using its considerable financial strength to augment the core business through acquisitions. Humana bought KMG America and CompBenefits in 2007. KMG America's voluntary products complement Humana's offerings, while CompBenefits offers a full-service vision product and has more than 25 years of experience in dental plans. Goldman Sachs' Bosch added in his note to clients that there is a "building realization that the MA program is likely to be a long-term vehicle for Medicare cost-containment, even under a potentially Democratic White House and Congress post the elections." Analyst Dave Shove of BMO Capital Markets said that health insurers are poised to benefit from stable cost trends and a lack of threats to reimbursement rates in 2008. Shares of most major managed-care companies have dipped on concerns surrounding New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's plans to sue commercial insurers. Humana does not have a great deal of exposure to Medicare, and is unlikely to be heavily affected by the lawsuits. Shares of Humana now trade below $65, well below the $88.10 52-week high. The company has been generating attractive earnings growth, has a return on equity of 23.54% and a decent amount of cash on its balance sheet. I expect the shares to yield positive returns over the next few years.	Love	March 12, 2008
plhodgson	MEDICAL GROUP	Love	March 11, 2008
panamapjs	Industry appears cheap and like 12 to 18 month outlook before Dems get into office	Love	February 29, 2008
panamapjs	Industry appears cheap and like 12 to 18 month outlook before Dems get into office	Love	February 29, 2008
panamapjs	Good fundamentals seems cheap belwo 70	Love	February 28, 2008
barrons2	According to sources interviewed by CNBC's Bertha Coombs, Amedisys, Inc (AMED), Humana (HUM) and Stryker Corporation (SYK) appear poised to benefit significantly.	Love	February 26, 2008
sgwizz	Weak economy is killing this one.	Hate	February 22, 2008
dynmark2	health trend-dominant player	Love	February 04, 2008
clanson	Same as UNH with likelyhood of benefiting from Welcare's legal problems	Love	November 01, 2007