Can Better Star Ratings and Margin Expansion Drive Humana (HUM) Higher?

Can Better Star Ratings and Margin Expansion Drive Humana (HUM) Higher?

Thu, September 3, 2026 at 5:34 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• HUM +2.74%

Eagle Capital Management, an investment management company, released its second quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the quarter, Eagle Capital Management discussed how enthusiasm around AI capital spending has driven strong S&P 500 earnings growth while also increasing risks from elevated valuations, concentrated demand, and aggressive investment assumptions. Eagle remains a strong believer in AI but prefers constructing a portfolio that can perform across multiple outcomes rather than relying on one forecast. The firm believes current earnings can overstate underlying economics because semiconductor equipment is depreciated over several years, while free cash flow growth remains much weaker. It also expects competition and additional capacity across AI labs, hyperscalers, and semiconductors to eventually create winners and losers. These dynamics are encouraging Eagle to recycle capital toward attractive opportunities outside the most crowded AI trades while maintaining selective exposure to high-quality beneficiaries. The portfolio trades at a 20% market discount with faster expected EPS growth. Please review the Strategy's top five holdings for key selections in 2026.

In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Eagle Capital Management highlighted Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM). Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) is an American insurance company that provides medical and specialty insurance products. On September 02, 2026, Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) closed at $400.97 per share. Over the past month, Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) returned 9.18%, and its shares gained 28.52% over the past 52 weeks. Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) has a market capitalization of $48.15 billion with a 52-week trading range between $163.11 and $428.88.

Eagle Capital Management stated the following regarding Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:

"Managed care (13% of capital): UnitedHealth Group, Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM), Elevance: These managed care companies have significant scale advantages in a consolidated industry that outgrows the overall economy. The industry moves with its own cycle and, over the last several years, has faced cost/price pressures in Medicare Advantage and Medicaid. Even the largest firms are earning poor margins, and some weaker firms are unprofitable. We believe conditions have bottomed out and that we are transitioning to a multi-year improvement in margins and earnings. Al-driven technology projects can both reduce costs and improve service quality. Humana is also making good strides, and we expect significantly improved Star ratings for the company later this year. We expect EPS growth of 15-20% over the next several years, driven by moderate revenue growth and significantly expanding margins."

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) is not on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 74 hedge fund portfolios held Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) at the end of the second quarter which was 61 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) and shared Hotchkis & Wileys' insight on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.