Headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut, The Cigna Group (CI) is a global health services company valued at a market cap of $91 billion. Cigna is recognized for its extensive portfolio of insurance products and health services, which include medical, dental, disability, life, and accident insurance. The company is set to announce its fiscal Q3 earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, Oct. 31.
Ahead of the event, analysts expect CI to report a profit of $7.22 per share, up 6.7% from $6.77 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has consistently exceeded Wall Street's EPS estimates in its last four quarterly reports. Its adjusted earnings of $6.72 per share for the last quarter surpassed the consensus estimate by 4.7%.
For fiscal 2024, analysts expect CI to report EPS of $28.48, up 13.5% from $25.09 in fiscal 2023.
CI stock is up 6.9% on a YTD basis, underperforming the broader S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 22.7% gains and the Healthcare Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLV) 11% gains over the same time frame.
On Oct. 21, CI dropped more than 4% after Bloomberg reported that the company was reviving its merger efforts with Humana.
On Sept. 5, the stock closed down more than 3% as managed healthcare stocks came under pressure due to comments at the Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference about ongoing challenges in the Medicaid business.
The consensus opinion on CI stock is highly bullish, with an overall “Strong Buy” rating. Out of 23 analysts covering the stock, 17 advise a “Strong Buy” rating, two suggest a “Moderate Buy” rating, and four recommend a “Hold.”
CI's average analyst price target is $397.82, indicating a potential upside of 24.2% from the current levels.
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