Brokerages Set The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Price Target at $373.69

Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $373.69.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CI. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 423,103 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $116,836,000 after buying an additional 169,012 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $747,000. Advent Capital Management DE purchased a new position in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $2,761,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of CI opened at $299.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.54. The Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $262.03 and a 12-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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $287.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $321.61.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.79 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.8 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.75%.

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.