The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Given Strong-Buy Rating at Raymond James

Raymond James reissued their strong-buy rating on shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $360.00 target price on the health services provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $415.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on CI. Truist Financial cut their target price on The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $394.00 target price (up from $392.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.27.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $293.99 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $262.03 and a 1 year high of $370.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $294.40 and a 200 day moving average of $324.43. The firm has a market cap of $81.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.54.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 18.42%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Davidson Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 53,846 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $14,869,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in The Cigna Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $15,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 7,224 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in The Cigna Group by 161.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 428 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The 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.