By Lisa Beilfuss
Humana Inc. on Monday cut its adjusted earnings outlook for the
full year and issued downbeat guidance for the current quarter on
the heels of its $34.1 billion tie-up announcement with Aetna Inc.
on Friday.
Humana said higher-than-expected Medicare Advantage admissions,
among other items, prompted the guidance changes.
The insurer, which agreed to be bought by rival Aetna for about
$230 a share, said it now expects to earn an adjusted per-share
profit of $7.75, down sharply from its previous estimate of $8.50
to $9. Adjusted earnings forecasts typically exclude one-time
costs.
For the quarter ended in June, Humana predicted earnings of
$1.60 to $1.65 a share, short of the $2.36 anticipated by analysts
polled by Thomson Reuters.
The Louisville company disclosed the updated guidance in a
regulatory filing ahead of a conference call to discuss the Aetna
tie-up.
Shares of Humana were up 1.3% to $190 in premarket trading, well
below the deal's offer price when it was announced.
Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com
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