Cigna logged a -0.2% change during today's afternoon session, and is now trading at a price of $287.02 per share.
Over the last year, Cigna logged a 3.0% change, with its stock price reaching a high of $340.11 and a low of $240.5. Over the same period, the stock underperformed the S&P 500 index by -7.0%. As of April 2023, the company's 50-day average price was $274.34. The Cigna Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and related products and services in the United States. Based in Bloomfield, CT, the large-cap Health Care company has 71,300 full time employees. Cigna has offered a 1.6% dividend yield over the last 12 months.
EPS Growth Achieved Primarily Through Stock Repurchases:
| 2020-02-27 | 2021-02-25 | 2022-02-24 | 2023-02-23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (MM) | $153,743 | $160,401 | $174,078 | $180,516 |
| Operating Margins | 5.4% | 5.1% | 4.6% | 4.7% |
| Net Margins | 3.32% | 5.27% | 3.08% | 3.69% |
| Net Income (MM) | $5,104 | $8,458 | $5,365 | $6,668 |
| Net Interest Expense (MM) | -$1,682 | -$1,438 | -$1,208 | -$1,228 |
| Depreciation & Amort. (MM) | -$3,651 | -$2,802 | -$2,923 | -$2,937 |
| Earnings Per Share | $13.44 | $22.96 | $15.89 | $21.81 |
| EPS Growth | n/a | 70.83% | -30.79% | 37.26% |
| Diluted Shares (MM) | 380 | 368 | 338 | 296 |
| Free Cash Flow (MM) | $10,535 | $11,444 | $8,345 | $9,951 |
| Capital Expenditures (MM) | -$1,050 | -$1,094 | -$1,154 | -$1,295 |
| Long Term Debt (MM) | $31,893 | $29,545 | $31,125 | $28,100 |
| LT Debt to Equity | 0.7 | 0.59 | 0.66 | 0.63 |
Cigna has growing revenues and increasing reinvestment in the business, a steady stream of strong cash flows, and healthy debt levels. However, the firm has good EPS growth resulting mainly from stock repurchases. Finally, we note that Cigna has weak operating margings with a stable trend.
A Lower P/B Ratio Than Its Sector Average but Trades Above Its Graham Number:
Cigna has a trailing twelve month P/E ratio of 12.6, compared to an average of 24.45 for the Health Care sector. Based on its EPS guidance of $28.23, the company has a forward P/E ratio of 9.7. According to the 16.0% compound average growth rate of Cigna's historical and projected earnings per share, the company's PEG ratio is 0.79. Taking the weighted average of the company's EPS CAGR and the broader market's 5-year projected EPS growth rate, we obtain a normalized growth rate of 9.8%. On this basis, the company's PEG ratio is 1.29. This implies that the shares are fairly valued. Additionally, the market is possibly undervaluing Cigna in terms of its equity because its P/B ratio is 1.87 whereas the sector average is 4.16. The company's shares are currently trading 13.4% above their Graham number.
Analysts Give Cigna an Average Rating of Buy:
The 23 analysts following Cigna have set target prices ranging from $284.0 to $385.0 per share, for an average of $328.74 with a buy rating. As of April 2023, the company is trading -16.5% away from its average target price, indicating that there is an analyst consensus of some upside potential.
Cigna has a very low short interest because 1.1% of the company's shares are sold short. Institutions own 89.4% of the company's shares, and the insider ownership rate stands at 1.55%, suggesting a large amount of insider shareholders. The largest shareholder is Blackrock Inc., whose 9% stake in the company is worth $7,395,533,267.
