In the latest trading session, Cigna (CI) closed at $218.67, marking a +0.56% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500’s daily loss of 0.87%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.08%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.34%.
– Zacks
Coming into today, shares of the health insurer had gained 0.22% in the past month. In that same time, the Finance sector lost 2.89%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.7%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Cigna as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.58, up 30.48% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $44.04 billion, up 5.7% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $20.41 per share and revenue of $172.37 billion. These totals would mark changes of +10.62% and +7.69%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Cigna. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company’s business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.07% higher. Cigna is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Investors should also note Cigna’s current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 10.65. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 9.53, which means Cigna is trading at a premium to the group.
We can also see that CI currently has a PEG ratio of 0.96. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock’s expected earnings growth rate. The Insurance – Multi line industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.07 as of yesterday’s close.
The Insurance – Multi line industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 183, putting it in the bottom 28% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow CI in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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Cigna Corporation (CI): Free Stock Analysis Report
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