Humana Earnings Beat Estimates but Fail to Impress Investors

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) reported its first-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Wednesday. The company said it had $1.86 in earnings per share (EPS) on $13.8 billion in revenue, which compares to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of $1.81 in EPS on revenue of $13.76 billion. In the same period of last year, Humana posted EPS of $2.47 and $13.83 billion in revenue.

In terms of guidance, the company reaffirmed its EPS outlook for 2016 of at least $8.85, versus the consensus estimate of $8.86. Apart from this, Humana expects the second-quarter EPS to be $2.15, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26.

As previously announced, Humana entered into a definitive merger agreement with Aetna last summer under which, at the closing, Aetna will acquire all outstanding common shares of Humana for $125 in cash and 0.8375 of an Aetna common share. The transaction is still subject to customary closing conditions. Also the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2016.

On the books, cash and short-term investments totaled $1.41 billion at the end of the first quarter, compared to $1.65 billion at the end of 2015.
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Bruce D. Broussard, president and CEO of Humana, commented:

We are pleased with our first-quarter earnings and believe the strategic and operational initiatives implemented in 2015, focusing on both clinical processes and administrative costs, will continue to yield positive results across the enterprise. As we continue to anticipate closing the pending transaction with Aetna in the second half of 2016, we believe the combination will further enhance the high-quality healthcare experience focused on the health and wellness of our members we strive for every day.

Chief Financial Officer Brian A. Kane added:

We are encouraged by the early indicators we are seeing in our Medicare and Healthcare Services businesses but remain cautious while our healthcare exchange experience continues to develop. We remain keenly focused on an enterprise-wide view of driving shareholder value by balancing continued pretax margin improvement and membership growth across our franchise.

Shares of Humana traded down 0.7% to $175.65 Wednesday morning. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $205.57 and a 52-week trading range of $155.24 to $219.79.