The Cigna Group’s (CI) “Overweight” Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $400.00 price target on the health services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $432.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on The Cigna Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an outperform rating and a $388.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler started coverage on The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set an overweight rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $384.86.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI opened at $342.20 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $97.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.52. The Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $253.95 and a 12 month high of $365.71. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $335.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $341.73.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.30. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 1.70%. The company had revenue of $60.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company 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, research analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.4 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 45.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total value of $922,151.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,264.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 17,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,264.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.08, for a total value of $338,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,849,635.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,033 shares of company stock valued at $3,095,820. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Cigna Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,285 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $684,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at $193,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth $326,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 127.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 566,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $169,558,000 after buying an additional 317,081 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.