Aetna (NYSE: AET)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Barclays Capital in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. They currently have a $57.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on AET. Analysts at Jefferies & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aetna from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research note to investors on Wednesday, March 6th. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at Jefferies Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Aetna in a research note to investors on Wednesday, March 6th. They now have a $61.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $58.00. Finally, analysts at TheStreet reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Aetna in a research note to investors on Monday, March 4th.

Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, one has assigned an overweight rating, and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Aetna currently has an average rating of “overweight” and an average target price of $54.83.

Shares of Aetna traded up 0.08% during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.28. Aetna has a one year low of $34.58 and a one year high of $51.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $48.88. The company has a market cap of $16.820 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.65.

Aetna last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 31st. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Aetna’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Aetna has set its FY13 guidance at at least $5.40 EPS. Analysts expect that Aetna will post $5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th.

Aetna Inc. (Aetna) is a diversified healthcare benefits company. The Company offers a range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, medical management capabilities, Medicaid healthcare management services and health information exchange technology services.

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