Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group set a $294.00 price objective on shares of Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Cigna Group from $415.00 to $301.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Cigna Group from $372.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cigna Group from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $307.00 price target on shares of Cigna Group in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cigna Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $333.04.

Cigna Group Stock Up 0.3%

CI stock opened at $284.77 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $76.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $271.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.50. Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $239.51 and a 1-year high of $350.00.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The health services provider reported $7.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.64 by $0.19. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.80% and a net margin of 2.29%.The firm had revenue of $69.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Cigna Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 29.600- EPS. Analysts expect that Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.64%.

Insider Activity

In other Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani bought 4,134 shares of Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $241.88 per share, with a total value of $999,931.92. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 157,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,201,317.80. This trade represents a 2.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CI. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Cigna Group by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cigna Group in the 1st quarter worth about $431,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 14.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Cigna Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,580,000. Finally, Glenview Trust co boosted its stake in Cigna Group by 2.8% during the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 17,271 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $5,682,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

About Cigna Group

Cigna Group (NYSE: CI) is a global health services company that offers a broad portfolio of healthcare products and insurance solutions for individuals, employers, and governments. Its core businesses include medical and behavioral health plans, dental and vision coverage, pharmacy benefit management, and supplemental health products. Cigna serves a mix of commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid customers and provides workplace benefits such as group health plans and disability and life benefits for employers.

In addition to traditional insurance products, Cigna operates health services and care-delivery platforms designed to manage costs and improve outcomes.