Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $380.39.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CI shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cigna Group from $379.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $385.00 price target (up from $382.00) on shares of Cigna Group in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Cigna Group from $385.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Cigna Group from $348.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $388.00 target price on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, May 23rd.

Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of CI stock traded down $6.41 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $313.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,397,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,742,260. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $319.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $310.06. The company has a market capitalization of $83.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.44. Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $262.03 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.35 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $65.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.39 billion. Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.97% and a return on equity of 18.63%. The firm's revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 3rd. Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.44%.

Institutional Trading of Cigna Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Cigna Group by 10.0% during 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 buying an additional 1,094,327 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,654,993 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $3,834,493,000 after purchasing an additional 98,715 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,889,733 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,924,722,000 after purchasing an additional 117,125 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,054,959 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,224,296,000 after purchasing an additional 154,420 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,957,180 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,640,878,000 after acquiring an additional 101,737 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company's stock.

About 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.