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

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on CI. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $371.00 price objective on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Cigna Group from $360.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Cigna Group from $379.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Cigna Group from $388.00 to $362.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cigna Group presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $380.39.

Cigna Group Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE CI traded down $3.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $295.27. 2,071,564 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,746,292. Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $262.03 and a 12-month high of $370.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $313.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.44. The firm has a market cap of $78.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.44.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.63% and a net margin of 1.97%. The business had revenue of $65.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.47 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 3rd. Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cigna Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CI. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in 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 worth $3,966,690,000 after buying an additional 1,094,327 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Cigna Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,654,993 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $3,834,493,000 after acquiring an additional 98,715 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in shares of Cigna Group by 1.3% in 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 boosted its position in shares of Cigna Group by 2.0% in 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 boosted its position in shares of Cigna Group by 1.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 101,737 shares during the period. 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.