The Cigna Group (CI) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 5th

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 30th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of 1.51 per share by the health services provider on Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40.

The Cigna Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 11.9% annually over the last three years. The Cigna Group has a dividend payout ratio of 18.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect The Cigna Group to earn $33.03 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.3%.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:CI opened at $308.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $289.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $318.52. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $262.03 and a one year high of $370.83. The firm has a market cap of $85.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued 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 return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price objective on The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.31.

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.