The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Cut to Market Perform at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has $323.00 target price on the health services provider’s stock.

CI has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.69.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI opened at $287.08 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $79.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $291.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $323.32. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $262.03 and a one year high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at $313,911,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 49,287.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 400,040 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $138,590,000 after purchasing an additional 399,230 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 55.1% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 884,406 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $244,220,000 after purchasing an additional 314,123 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,230,397 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,929,978,000 after buying an additional 279,880 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in The Cigna Group by 42.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 860,050 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $297,956,000 after acquiring an additional 257,711 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

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.