Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Stock

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $288.00 to $304.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the health services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.54% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on CI. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price objective on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Cigna Group from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Cigna Group from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $362.00 price target on shares of Cigna Group in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cigna Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.15.

Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of Cigna Group stock traded down $4.98 during trading on Thursday, reaching $296.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 649,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,669,527. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $287.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.49. Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $257.85 and a fifty-two week high of $318.05. The firm has a market cap of $78.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $7.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.52 by $0.46. Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 19.57%. The firm had revenue of $73.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.83 EPS. Cigna Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Cigna Group will post 30.72 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 2,677 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.61, for a total value of $748,515.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,880 shares in the company, valued at $7,236,306.80. This trade represents a 9.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Everett Neville sold 617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.05, for a total transaction of $175,258.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,435,304.65. This trade represents a 10.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evercore Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,301 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in Cigna Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,483 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Cigna Group by 4.2% during the second quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 919 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Maripau Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Cigna Group by 4.0% during the first quarter. Maripau Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital City Trust Co. FL boosted its position in Cigna Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 6,380 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cigna Group Company Profile

The Cigna Group is a global health services company that provides health insurance and related services through its Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth Health Services businesses. Cigna Healthcare offers medical, dental, behavioral health and other coverage and services to employers, individuals and government-program members. Evernorth provides pharmacy benefit management, specialty pharmacy, care delivery and other health services. Its offerings include prescription drug benefits and services for people with complex or chronic conditions.