Cigna (CI) Stock Closed Up Ahead of Earnings Results
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Cigna (CI) - Get Report finished the day higher by 1.88% to $132.88 at the close on Thursday afternoon, one day prior to the release of the company's 2015 third quarter earnings results.
The Bloomfield, CT-based health insurance company will release its latest financial report before the market open on Friday morning.
Analysts are expecting that Cigna will post a year over year rise in both its earnings per share and revenue results for the three month period ending in September.
Cigna has been forecast to report earnings of $2.20 per share on revenue of $9.52 billion for the 2015 third quarter.
The company's adjusted earnings came in at $1.95 per share on consolidated revenue of $8.8 billion for the 2014 third quarter. The company's financial results from the previous year's third quarter had grown from the same period in 2013.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates CIGNA CORP as a Buy with a ratings score of A-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:
We rate CIGNA CORP (CI) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, notable return on equity, solid stock price performance and growth in earnings per share. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow.
Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:
- CI's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 8.3%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 8.7%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
- The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.46, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels.
- The return on equity has improved slightly when compared to the same quarter one year prior. This can be construed as a modest strength in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Health Care Providers & Services industry and the overall market, CIGNA CORP's return on equity exceeds that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
- Investors have apparently begun to recognize positive factors similar to those we have mentioned in this report, including earnings growth. This has helped drive up the company's shares by a sharp 44.20% over the past year, a rise that has exceeded that of the S&P 500 Index. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, CI should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year.
- CIGNA CORP has improved earnings per share by 6.6% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. We feel that this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, CIGNA CORP increased its bottom line by earning $7.82 versus $5.20 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($8.61 versus $7.82).
- You can view the full analysis from the report here: CI
Any reference to TheStreet Ratings and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of Jim Cramer, TheStreet or any of its contributors.