Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Cigna Group from $354.00 to $300.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $318.00 price objective on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Cigna Group from $375.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Cigna Group from $300.00 to $270.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.83.

Cigna Group Price Performance

CI opened at $276.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $73.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.25. Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $239.51 and a 12 month high of $350.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $275.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $291.27.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The health services provider reported $7.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.64 by $0.19. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.80% and a net margin of 2.29%.The firm had revenue of $69.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Cigna Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 29.600- EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.64%.

Insider Transactions at Cigna Group

In related news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 5,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $1,610,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,354,600. This represents a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani purchased 4,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $241.88 per share, with a total value of $999,931.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 157,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,201,317.80. This represents a 2.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cigna Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CI. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cigna Group in the first quarter valued at $28,000. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cigna Group during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cigna Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Cigna Group by 119.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 90 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Cigna Group Company Profile

Cigna Group (NYSE: CI) is a global health services company that offers a broad portfolio of healthcare products and insurance solutions for individuals, employers, and governments. Its core businesses include medical and behavioral health plans, dental and vision coverage, pharmacy benefit management, and supplemental health products. Cigna serves a mix of commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid customers and provides workplace benefits such as group health plans and disability and life benefits for employers.

In addition to traditional insurance products, Cigna operates health services and care-delivery platforms designed to manage costs and improve outcomes.