The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $273.26, but opened at $263.67. The Cigna Group shares last traded at $268.38, with a volume of 472,012 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CI. StockNews.com lowered shares of The Cigna Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $405.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $394.00 target price (up previously from $392.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $394.64.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 6.3 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $322.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $335.44. The stock has a market cap of $78.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $7.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.22 by $0.29. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 1.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 2.0% in the 3rd 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in The Cigna Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,054,958 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,829,880,000 after purchasing an additional 130,048 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,855,443 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,021,563,000 after purchasing an additional 22,408 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,922,121 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,012,340,000 after purchasing an additional 59,011 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,628,807 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $869,078,000 after buying an additional 150,765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.