Guggenheim Reiterates Buy Rating for The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Guggenheim reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective (down previously from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $339.00 to $382.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $378.00.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI stock opened at $332.99 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $323.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $309.57. The company has a market capitalization of $91.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $262.03 and a twelve month high of $370.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.35 by $0.39. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. The company had revenue of $65.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.47 EPS. The Cigna Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 3rd. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.35%.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In other news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total value of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,697,924.85. The trade was a 30.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,367,568.04. The trade was a 17.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 in the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Cigna Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter worth $4,367,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 323,911 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $112,216,000 after buying an additional 11,228 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 75,837 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $20,942,000 after buying an additional 858 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $15,721,000 after buying an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 550,638 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $152,053,000 after acquiring an additional 8,077 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

About The Cigna Group

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.