AM Best Assigns Long-Term Credit Rating to Humana
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 3 days ago
0mins
Should l Buy HUM?
Source: Newsfilter
- Credit Rating Upgrade: AM Best has assigned a 'bbb-' Long-Term Credit Rating to Humana Inc.'s $1 billion, 6.625% fixed-rate junior subordinated notes, with a stable outlook, indicating the company's solid creditworthiness in financing.
- Financial Leverage Changes: The issuance is expected to slightly increase Humana's financial leverage to approximately 41.8% by year-end 2025, exceeding the long-term target of 40%, but management aims to manage this through equity increases and continued deleveraging.
- Liquidity Support: Humana's cash flow in 2025 totaled $0.9 billion, a significant drop from $3 billion in 2024, driven by timing impacts and increased receivables, yet the company maintains good liquidity through $1.1 billion in dividends from subsidiaries and $5 billion in credit lines.
- Profitability Trends: While Humana achieved strong premium growth in 2025, primarily from its Medicare Advantage segment, net income was impacted by increased utilization and changes in reimbursement, with expectations for positive earnings but margin compression throughout 2026.
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Analyst Views on HUM
Wall Street analysts forecast HUM stock price to rise
19 Analyst Rating
6 Buy
12 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 179.150
Low
231.00
Averages
290.39
High
344.00
Current: 179.150
Low
231.00
Averages
290.39
High
344.00
About HUM
Humana Inc. provides Humana insurance services and CenterWell health care services. The Company's segments include Insurance and CenterWell. The Insurance segment consists of Medicare benefits, marketed to individuals or directly via group Medicare accounts, as well as its contract with CMS to administer the Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition (LI-NET) prescription drug plan program and contracts with various states to provide Medicaid, dual eligible demonstration, and Long-Term Support Services benefits. This segment also includes products consisting of employer group commercial fully-insured medical and specialty health insurance benefits marketed to individuals and employer groups. The CenterWell segment includes its pharmacy, primary care, and home solutions operations. The segment also includes its strategic partnerships with WCAS to develop and operate senior-focused, payor-agnostic, primary care centers, as well as its minority ownership interest in hospice operations.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Humana Completes $1 Billion Junior Subordinated Notes Offering
- Bond Offering Size: Humana Inc. has completed a $1 billion fixed-rate junior subordinated notes offering at 6.625%, which will provide the company with approximately $986 million in net proceeds, enhancing its capital structure.
- Planned Use of Proceeds: The company intends to use the net proceeds from this bond offering for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of existing debt, particularly borrowings under its commercial paper program, thereby optimizing financial leverage and reducing interest expenses.
- Underwriter Lineup: The bond offering was jointly managed by prominent financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Mizuho Securities, Truist, and Wells Fargo, reflecting strong market confidence in Humana's debt instruments.
- Compliance and Forward-Looking Statements: This offering was made pursuant to an effective registration statement with the SEC, and Humana has issued forward-looking statements to alert investors to potential operational risks and uncertainties, ensuring transparency and compliance.
See More
Humana Completes $1 Billion Junior Subordinated Notes Offering
- Offering Size: Humana Inc. has completed a $1 billion fixed-rate junior subordinated notes offering at 6.625%, with expected net proceeds of approximately $986 million, which will be used for general corporate purposes including repayment of existing debt, thereby enhancing financial flexibility.
- Underwriter Lineup: The offering was managed by prominent financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Mizuho Securities, Truist, and Wells Fargo, reflecting strong market confidence and support for Humana.
- Compliance and Transparency: The issuance was conducted under an effective shelf registration statement with the SEC, ensuring compliance and transparency, which may attract more investors for future financing activities.
- Future Outlook: Humana intends to leverage this financing to improve its capital structure, particularly in the highly competitive healthcare sector, thereby strengthening its market position and financial stability to address future challenges and opportunities.
See More
AM Best Assigns Long-Term Credit Rating to Humana
- Credit Rating Upgrade: AM Best has assigned a 'bbb-' Long-Term Credit Rating to Humana Inc.'s $1 billion, 6.625% fixed-rate junior subordinated notes, with a stable outlook, indicating the company's solid creditworthiness in financing.
- Financial Leverage Changes: The issuance is expected to slightly increase Humana's financial leverage to approximately 41.8% by year-end 2025, exceeding the long-term target of 40%, but management aims to manage this through equity increases and continued deleveraging.
- Liquidity Support: Humana's cash flow in 2025 totaled $0.9 billion, a significant drop from $3 billion in 2024, driven by timing impacts and increased receivables, yet the company maintains good liquidity through $1.1 billion in dividends from subsidiaries and $5 billion in credit lines.
- Profitability Trends: While Humana achieved strong premium growth in 2025, primarily from its Medicare Advantage segment, net income was impacted by increased utilization and changes in reimbursement, with expectations for positive earnings but margin compression throughout 2026.
See More
Humana Prices $1 Billion Junior Subordinated Notes Offering
- Bond Offering Size: Humana announced a public offering of $1 billion in fixed-rate junior subordinated notes, expected to close on March 9, 2026, which will provide the company with approximately $986 million in net proceeds, enhancing its capital structure.
- Clear Use of Proceeds: The company intends to utilize the raised funds for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of existing debt, particularly borrowings under its commercial paper program, thereby reducing financial leverage and optimizing capital allocation.
- Market Reaction Cautious: Despite the funding support from this bond issuance, the market remains skeptical about Humana's future growth, especially in light of the slowdown in Medicare Advantage growth, which could impact investor confidence.
- Industry Dynamics Impact: While Humana is acquiring Florida-based primary care organization MaxHealth, it faces competitive pressures from UnitedHealth and CVS, which may have long-term implications for its market share and profitability.
See More
HUM Options Contract Analysis and Investment Opportunities
- Put Option Appeal: The current bid for the $180.00 put option is $10.10, and if an investor sells this contract, they commit to buying the stock at $180.00, effectively lowering their cost basis to $169.90, which is approximately a 1% discount from the current price of $181.36, making it an attractive alternative for potential buyers.
- Yield Potential Analysis: Should the put option expire worthless, it would yield a 5.61% return on the cash commitment, equating to an annualized yield of 41.00%, referred to as YieldBoost, highlighting the potential profitability of this contract.
- Call Option Returns: The $185.00 call option has a current bid of $9.80, and if an investor buys HUM shares at $181.36 and sells this call, they could achieve a total return of 7.41% if the stock is called away at expiration, indicating a lucrative strategy.
- Risk-Reward Balance: Given that the $185.00 strike price represents a 2% premium over the current stock price, the current data suggests a 50% chance of the call option expiring worthless, allowing investors to retain both their shares and the premium collected, thereby enhancing investment security.
See More
Eli Lilly Launches New Program to Enhance Obesity Drug Coverage
- Program Launch: Eli Lilly has introduced the 'Employer Connect' platform aimed at helping more employers cover obesity drugs, addressing a major barrier to patient access and expected to enhance employee drug accessibility.
- Price Transparency: Through this platform, employers can purchase a multi-dose form of Zepbound at a net discounted price of $449 per month, avoiding traditional rebate models, thereby providing clearer visibility on drug pricing for employers.
- Flexible Benefits Design: Employers can choose from 15 different third-party administrators to design benefits tailored to their budget and workforce needs, offering comprehensive obesity management services including telehealth, nutrition, and lifestyle support.
- Government Insurance Coverage: Under landmark deals with President Trump, Medicare will cover obesity drugs for the first time, which is expected to further expand drug accessibility and benefit more patients.
See More
Humana Completes $1 Billion Junior Subordinated Notes Offering
- Bond Offering Size: Humana Inc. has completed a $1 billion fixed-rate junior subordinated notes offering at 6.625%, which will provide the company with approximately $986 million in net proceeds, enhancing its capital structure.
- Planned Use of Proceeds: The company intends to use the net proceeds from this bond offering for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of existing debt, particularly borrowings under its commercial paper program, thereby optimizing financial leverage and reducing interest expenses.
- Underwriter Lineup: The bond offering was jointly managed by prominent financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Mizuho Securities, Truist, and Wells Fargo, reflecting strong market confidence in Humana's debt instruments.
- Compliance and Forward-Looking Statements: This offering was made pursuant to an effective registration statement with the SEC, and Humana has issued forward-looking statements to alert investors to potential operational risks and uncertainties, ensuring transparency and compliance.
See More
Humana Completes $1 Billion Junior Subordinated Notes Offering
- Offering Size: Humana Inc. has completed a $1 billion fixed-rate junior subordinated notes offering at 6.625%, with expected net proceeds of approximately $986 million, which will be used for general corporate purposes including repayment of existing debt, thereby enhancing financial flexibility.
- Underwriter Lineup: The offering was managed by prominent financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Mizuho Securities, Truist, and Wells Fargo, reflecting strong market confidence and support for Humana.
- Compliance and Transparency: The issuance was conducted under an effective shelf registration statement with the SEC, ensuring compliance and transparency, which may attract more investors for future financing activities.
- Future Outlook: Humana intends to leverage this financing to improve its capital structure, particularly in the highly competitive healthcare sector, thereby strengthening its market position and financial stability to address future challenges and opportunities.
See More
AM Best Assigns Long-Term Credit Rating to Humana
- Credit Rating Upgrade: AM Best has assigned a 'bbb-' Long-Term Credit Rating to Humana Inc.'s $1 billion, 6.625% fixed-rate junior subordinated notes, with a stable outlook, indicating the company's solid creditworthiness in financing.
- Financial Leverage Changes: The issuance is expected to slightly increase Humana's financial leverage to approximately 41.8% by year-end 2025, exceeding the long-term target of 40%, but management aims to manage this through equity increases and continued deleveraging.
- Liquidity Support: Humana's cash flow in 2025 totaled $0.9 billion, a significant drop from $3 billion in 2024, driven by timing impacts and increased receivables, yet the company maintains good liquidity through $1.1 billion in dividends from subsidiaries and $5 billion in credit lines.
- Profitability Trends: While Humana achieved strong premium growth in 2025, primarily from its Medicare Advantage segment, net income was impacted by increased utilization and changes in reimbursement, with expectations for positive earnings but margin compression throughout 2026.
See More
Humana Prices $1 Billion Junior Subordinated Notes Offering
- Bond Offering Size: Humana announced a public offering of $1 billion in fixed-rate junior subordinated notes, expected to close on March 9, 2026, which will provide the company with approximately $986 million in net proceeds, enhancing its capital structure.
- Clear Use of Proceeds: The company intends to utilize the raised funds for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of existing debt, particularly borrowings under its commercial paper program, thereby reducing financial leverage and optimizing capital allocation.
- Market Reaction Cautious: Despite the funding support from this bond issuance, the market remains skeptical about Humana's future growth, especially in light of the slowdown in Medicare Advantage growth, which could impact investor confidence.
- Industry Dynamics Impact: While Humana is acquiring Florida-based primary care organization MaxHealth, it faces competitive pressures from UnitedHealth and CVS, which may have long-term implications for its market share and profitability.
See More
HUM Options Contract Analysis and Investment Opportunities
- Put Option Appeal: The current bid for the $180.00 put option is $10.10, and if an investor sells this contract, they commit to buying the stock at $180.00, effectively lowering their cost basis to $169.90, which is approximately a 1% discount from the current price of $181.36, making it an attractive alternative for potential buyers.
- Yield Potential Analysis: Should the put option expire worthless, it would yield a 5.61% return on the cash commitment, equating to an annualized yield of 41.00%, referred to as YieldBoost, highlighting the potential profitability of this contract.
- Call Option Returns: The $185.00 call option has a current bid of $9.80, and if an investor buys HUM shares at $181.36 and sells this call, they could achieve a total return of 7.41% if the stock is called away at expiration, indicating a lucrative strategy.
- Risk-Reward Balance: Given that the $185.00 strike price represents a 2% premium over the current stock price, the current data suggests a 50% chance of the call option expiring worthless, allowing investors to retain both their shares and the premium collected, thereby enhancing investment security.
See More
Eli Lilly Launches New Program to Enhance Obesity Drug Coverage
- Program Launch: Eli Lilly has introduced the 'Employer Connect' platform aimed at helping more employers cover obesity drugs, addressing a major barrier to patient access and expected to enhance employee drug accessibility.
- Price Transparency: Through this platform, employers can purchase a multi-dose form of Zepbound at a net discounted price of $449 per month, avoiding traditional rebate models, thereby providing clearer visibility on drug pricing for employers.
- Flexible Benefits Design: Employers can choose from 15 different third-party administrators to design benefits tailored to their budget and workforce needs, offering comprehensive obesity management services including telehealth, nutrition, and lifestyle support.
- Government Insurance Coverage: Under landmark deals with President Trump, Medicare will cover obesity drugs for the first time, which is expected to further expand drug accessibility and benefit more patients.
See More
