The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $392.79.

CI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $384.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on The Cigna Group from $402.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th.

Insider Activity at The Cigna Group

In other news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total value of $922,151.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,264.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 8.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,793,138 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $9,731,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,333 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,341,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,208,593,000 after buying an additional 867,180 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,628,807 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $869,078,000 after buying an additional 150,765 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 23.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,138,193 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $706,822,000 after buying an additional 405,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 63.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547,245 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $510,467,000 after acquiring an additional 600,215 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

The Cigna Group stock opened at $308.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.50. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $253.95 and a 52 week high of $370.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $347.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $342.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.30. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $60.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.98%.

The Cigna Group Company Profile

The Cigna Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and related products and services in the United States. Its Evernorth Health Services segment provides a range of coordinated and point solution health services, including pharmacy benefits, home delivery pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, distribution, and care delivery and management solutions to health plans, employers, government organizations, and health care providers.