The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Announces $1.40 Quarterly Dividend

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of 1.40 per share by the health services provider on Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%.

The Cigna Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 397.3% annually over the last three years. The Cigna Group has a dividend payout ratio of 17.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect The Cigna Group to earn $31.77 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.6%.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of CI opened at $317.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $253.95 and a one year high of $370.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $349.85 and a 200 day moving average of $343.40.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $60.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.30 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 1.70%. The Cigna Group’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total value of $922,151.88. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,264.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CI. Barclays lifted their target price on The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $384.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday. One 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $392.79.

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.