Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Cigna Group from “Buy” to “Hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with 15 Buy ratings and 8 Hold ratings and an average price target of $338.24.
• Cigna reported quarterly EPS of $7.78, exceeding the $7.60 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $71.56 billion, up 6.7% year over year and above expectations.
• Shares opened at $298.13, with a market capitalization of approximately $78.78 billion; insiders sold $6.29 million of stock during the last quarter, while institutional investors own nearly 87% of the company.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Cigna Group from $304.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cigna Group in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Cigna Group from $338.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Evercore started coverage on Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Cigna Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $338.24.

Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $298.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $78.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.29. Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $239.51 and a 52-week high of $316.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm's fifty day moving average is $283.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.53.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $7.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $71.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.14 billion. Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The business's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.20 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cigna Group will post 30.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cigna Group news, insider Everett Neville sold 617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.05, for a total transaction of $175,258.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,435,304.65. This trade represents a 10.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 2,677 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.61, for a total value of $748,515.97. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,880 shares in the company, valued at $7,236,306.80. The trade was a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 22,730 shares of company stock valued at $6,293,359 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cigna Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Cigna Group by 9.8% during the third quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,447 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $13,060,000 after buying an additional 4,230 shares during the period. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cigna Group by 198.1% in the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,255,000 after buying an additional 3,069 shares in the last quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in Cigna Group by 4.7% in the third quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 915 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp acquired a new position in shares of Cigna Group in the third quarter worth about $16,682,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cigna Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company's stock.

Cigna Group Company Profile

The Cigna Group NYSE: CI is a global health services company that provides insurance coverage, health care benefits and related services. Its operations are primarily organized through Cigna Healthcare, which offers medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health and other benefit programs to employers, government organizations and individuals, primarily in the United States.

The company also operates Evernorth Health Services, a health services platform that includes pharmacy benefit management, specialty pharmacy, care management and health-care delivery capabilities.

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