Short Interest in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Decreases By 10.9%

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) saw a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,190,000 shares, a decrease of 10.9% from the November 15th total of 3,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Cigna Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CI. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in The Cigna Group by 3.2% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 602,339 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $199,115,000 after purchasing an additional 18,733 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in The Cigna Group by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,408 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3.5% during the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,744 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,890,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in The Cigna Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 132,816 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $43,905,000 after acquiring an additional 2,332 shares during the period. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 198.3% in the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,394 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,496,000 after acquiring an additional 2,921 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

The Cigna Group stock traded down $7.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $265.51. 4,482,831 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,603,976. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $262.03 and a 1-year high of $370.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average of $323.54 and a 200 day moving average of $335.82. The company has a market capitalization of $73.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.50.

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

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 52.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CI. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded The Cigna Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $394.00 price target (up from $392.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $394.64.

About The Cigna Group

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.