Short Interest in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Expands By 44.5%

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,610,000 shares, a growth of 44.5% from the November 30th total of 3,190,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $405.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of The Cigna Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $394.00 target price (up from $392.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, November 4th. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 20.8% during the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,010 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 4,192 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 17.3% during the second quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 666 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of CI stock traded down $1.81 during trading on Monday, reaching $276.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 348,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,621,371. The company has a market capitalization of $77.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.50. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $262.03 and a 1-year high of $370.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $312.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $332.54.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $7.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $63.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.83%.

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.