Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Piper Sandler

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) had its price target decreased by Piper Sandler from $370.00 to $360.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the health services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Guggenheim cut their price target on Cigna Group from $361.00 to $347.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $336.00 to $307.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $390.00 target price on shares of Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $336.90.

Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of Cigna Group stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $296.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,442,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,681,560. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $287.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $282.70. The firm has a market cap of $78.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.25. Cigna Group has a one year low of $257.85 and a one year high of $318.05.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $7.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.52 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $73.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.64 billion. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 19.57% and a net margin of 2.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cigna Group will post 30.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is 27.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Everett Neville sold 617 shares of Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,435,304.65. This trade represents a 10.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,236,306.80. This trade represents a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cigna Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CI. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Cigna Group in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Cigna Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Cigna Group during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new position in Cigna Group during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in Cigna Group during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Cigna Group News Roundup

These are some of the CI news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Coverage points to a raised earnings outlook following a strong third quarter, which could improve expectations for future results. CIBC also included Cigna in a defensive stock-pick list. Cigna earnings outlook CIBC defensive stock-pick list
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains moderately bullish overall, although coverage notes Cigna has lagged industry peers and the broader market. Analyst sentiment overview
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler trimmed its target from $370 to $360, though it retained an overweight rating. Separately, CIBC cited the possibility of a tougher regulatory environment after the election as a risk for corporate America. Piper Sandler target revision CIBC election-related context

Cigna Group Company Profile

The Cigna Group is a global health services company that provides health insurance and related services through its Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth Health Services businesses. Cigna Healthcare offers medical, dental, behavioral health and other coverage and services to employers, individuals and government-program members. Evernorth provides pharmacy benefit management, specialty pharmacy, care delivery and other health services. Its offerings include prescription drug benefits and services for people with complex or chronic conditions.