Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Cigna Group from $371.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore began coverage on Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on Cigna Group from $304.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Cigna Group from $305.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $336.00 to $307.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $337.10.

Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of Cigna Group stock opened at $272.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $239.51 and a 52-week high of $315.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $280.33 and a 200-day moving average of $280.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.31.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $7.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $70.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.14 billion. Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.20 EPS. Cigna Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 30.450- EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Cigna Group will post 30.51 EPS for the current year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $1.56 per share. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. Cigna Group’s payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cigna Group news, insider Everett Neville sold 617 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,435,304.65. This represents a 10.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Nicole Jones sold 19,436 shares of Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.27, for a total value of $5,369,583.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,530,015.12. This represents a 41.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 22,730 shares of company stock valued at $6,293,359 in the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Cigna Group by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 65,662 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $17,515,000 after acquiring an additional 5,963 shares in the last quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,808,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 380,034 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $104,768,000 after acquiring an additional 22,978 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,043,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in Cigna Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,231,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cigna Group Company Profile

The Cigna Group (NYSE: CI) is a global health services company that helps individuals, employers, health plans and government organizations access health care and related services. The company operates primarily through two businesses: Cigna Healthcare, which provides medical, behavioral health, dental and other health benefit products and services, and Evernorth Health Services, which offers pharmacy, care delivery and health benefits solutions.

Evernorth includes Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit services provider that manages prescription drug benefits and operates home delivery and specialty pharmacy services.