Leerink Partnrs Reduces Earnings Estimates for CVS Health

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) – Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs lowered their FY2024 earnings estimates for CVS Health in a report issued on Monday, January 27th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now forecasts that the pharmacy operator will post earnings per share of $5.16 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $5.21. The consensus estimate for CVS Health’s current full-year earnings is $5.22 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for CVS Health’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.94 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.20 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.58 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.67 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.32 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.77 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.10 EPS.

CVS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on CVS Health from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.12.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE:CVS opened at $57.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.24 and a 200-day moving average of $56.19. CVS Health has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $80.75. The firm has a market cap of $72.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.59.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 67.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 20,188 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,578 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $795,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,269,000. Wallace Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health in the second quarter valued at about $457,000. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 16.4% during the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 82,350 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $4,864,000 after buying an additional 11,617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services.