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

Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $379.33.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CI. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $385.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of CI stock opened at $320.68 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $262.03 and a 1 year high of $370.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $325.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $309.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $85.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.35 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $65.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.39 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 3rd. The Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at $39,367,568.04. The trade was a 17.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $3,182,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,289,920. This trade represents a 42.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of The Cigna Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CI. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 1st quarter worth $26,580,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $325,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in The Cigna Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,111,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 450.8% during the 1st quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 25,708 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $8,458,000 after acquiring an additional 21,041 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company's stock.

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.

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