Humana Raises Outlook As Part Of Business Performs Better Than Expected

Health insurer Humana Inc. said Thursday it is raising its second-quarter and full-year guidance to reflect a better-than-expected performance at its individual Medicare Advantage and healthcare services businesses, which was partially offset by continued weakness in its individual commercial medical business. Humana, which is currently trying to merge with Aetna Inc. , said it now expects full-year adjusted per-share earnings of at least $9.25, up from prior guidance of at least $8.85. The FactSet consensus is for a reading of $8.86. For the second quarter, Humana is expecting EPS of about $2.28, up from earlier guidance of at least $2.15, and compared with a FactSet consensus of $2.18. "Higher projected individual Medicare Advantage pretax results of approximately $185 million, or $0.76 per diluted common share(a), are primarily due to operating initiatives resulting in favorable prior period medical claims development and lower current-year utilization than was anticipated in pricing," the company said in a statement. Shares were halted for news pending, but have fallen about 12% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained about 7%.