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

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised Cigna Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Cigna Group in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Cigna Group from $341.00 to $340.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $372.00 target price on Cigna Group in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $374.76.

Cigna Group Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of CI stock opened at $297.31 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $295.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $312.02. Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $256.89 and a 1-year high of $370.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.15 by $0.05. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.80% and a net margin of 1.92%.The firm had revenue of $67.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.72 earnings per share. Cigna Group’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Cigna Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 29.600- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Cigna Group’s payout ratio is presently 32.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 28,526 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $8,557,800.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,648 shares in the company, valued at $7,694,400. This represents a 52.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cigna Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CI. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cigna Group by 86,071.1% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,475,282 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,148,859,000 after acquiring an additional 3,471,249 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cigna Group in the second quarter valued at $1,110,426,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cigna Group in the first quarter valued at $727,905,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Cigna Group by 58,799.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774,626 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $583,852,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Cigna Group by 10.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,056,806 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,966,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,327 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.