Zacks Research Comments on The Cigna Group’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:CI)

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research upped their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for The Cigna Group in a report issued on Friday, May 24th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now anticipates that the health services provider will post earnings per share of $7.79 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $7.68. The consensus estimate for The Cigna Group’s current full-year earnings is $28.46 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for The Cigna Group’s FY2024 earnings at $28.42 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $6.87 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $8.03 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $31.84 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $8.05 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $35.15 EPS.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.17 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $57.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.59 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.41 earnings per share.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $370.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.14.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of CI stock opened at $332.61 on Monday. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $240.50 and a 1-year high of $365.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $350.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $323.54. The firm has a market cap of $94.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Cigna Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,006,348,000. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the third quarter worth about $731,041,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,793,138 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $9,731,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,017,333 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,967,363 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,567,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 867,180 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 2,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.73, for a total value of $833,900.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 340,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,699,629.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other The Cigna Group news, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 10,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.47, for a total transaction of $3,728,629.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,514,189.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 2,412 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.73, for a total transaction of $833,900.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 340,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,699,629.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 72,366 shares of company stock worth $25,440,835. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 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.