Humana Beats Profit Expectatons And Lifts Outlook, But Revenue Falls Shy

Humana Inc. reported Wednesday a second-quarter net profit that rose to $1.04 billion, or $4.46 a share, from $636 million, or $2.06 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $3.49, beating the FactSet consensus of $3.08. Revenue fell to $13.53 billion from $14.01 billion, just missing the FactSet consensus of $13.60 billion. The health plan administrator raised its 2017 adjusted EPS outlook to about $11.50, which is above the FactSet consensus of $11.14. The company said it expects 74% of its June 30, 2017 Medicare Advantage membership to be in 4-star plans or higher for bonus year 2018. As of October 2016, the company had said the percentage of its July 31, 2016 Medicare Advantage membership in 4-star plans or higher had declined to 37% for 2018. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has rallied 13% year to date, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has gained 8.7% and the S&P 500 has climbed 11%.