CI Investment Analysis Report & Stock Research, CIGNA Corp.

CIGNA Corporation (CI)

CI Stock Report

2-Year Price History

View Larger CI Chart
NYSE:CI
$33.62
(2/9 3:33PM)
+1.6%
Open$33.49 Mkt Cap$9.0 Billion
High$33.75 52Wk High$39.26
Low$32.68 52Wk Low$12.68
Volume2.4 Million Avg Vol 10D4.6 Million

Ockham's Rating/Recommendation Summary

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CI Revenue

For a long time, value investors have used the current share price relative to sales per share levels as an important valuation tool. We utilize a historical weighted average methodology that treats recent years more importantly in the calculation. When looking at CI through this framework, we can see that our weighted average historical high and low Price to Sales per share ratios over the last 10 years are 0.82x and 0.41x respectively.

Utilizing this range we can see that CI’s current Price to Sales per share ratio of 0.49x is significantly below its average levels historically. In fact, with a current price of $33.36, CI is a full 21% below its average Price to Sales ratio at comparable sales levels. This is a rare occurrence and, when taken in context of the other areas of our analysis, can be a strong positive for our outlook for CI.

CI Cash Earnings

As the old saying goes, "Cash is King!" We look at reported Cash Earnings, but the main emphasis of our analysis involves stripping out non-cash events such as depreciation from our cash earnings analysis. This helps us view the cash flows more clearly. Nevertheless, an analysis of Cash Earnings (both reported and otherwise) is absolutely pivotal to assessing a company's value, and currently CI is significantly below their historical average multiples of Cash Earnings, as calculated by our proprietary analysis. It is incredibly important to understand that for CI, the current level of Cash Earnings compared to its historical levels helps identify where CI is in relation to what the investing community was willing to pay for this level of Cash Earnings in the past. With a historical high Cash Earnings per share ratio of 21.82 and a historical low Cash Earnings per share ratio of 7.75, an investor can relate where value becomes optimal.

So what does "significantly below" mean when we talk about Price to Cash Earnings numbers for CI? From the Ockham perspective, we are looking specifically at CI to see if the market is recognizing the huge disparity between CI's past stock price to Cash Earnings ratio to today's levels. At a difference of 20% below the average historical Price to Cash Earnings ratio, our view would be quite positive at this point. However, as with all metrics, we need to also take other factors into account when looking at CI. While we view better Cash Earnings metrics as very important, if the market is slow to identify this value, or if Cash Earnings were to fall from these levels, we would become more neutral in our stance.

CI Dividends

While it is not necessary to pay an attractive dividend or a dividend at all, to receive a positive rating from Ockham, we view dividends as an additionally helpful measure in determining the future potential of any company.

In CI’s case, the estimated annual dividend is $0.04 resulting in a current dividend yield of 0.12%. Similar to our review of Sales and Cash Earnings per share, we evaluate dividend yields from CI against the historic high and low levels over the past 10 years. The highest dividend yield from CI over this period was 3.86% while the lowest dividend yield was 0.07% While it is quite common for a growth stock to pay no dividend at all, but for a mature company such as CI that has a history of paying dividends it is disappointing to see their dividend yield drop so significantly. At this time, the current dividend yield is 93.89% below the median yield.

Peer Comparison

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CIGNA Corp. Industry Grouping

(2/8/2010)
Company Ticker Market Cap (Ml) Latest
Price
Price/Cash Earnings Price/Sales 5-Yr. Rev.
Growth Rate
5-Yr.
Avg. ROE.
Current 10-Yr. Range* Current 10-Yr. Range*
Peer Company Averages (not including CI) 10.90 7.02 » 25.11 1.77 1.02 » 3.02 12.10% 19.84%
*10 year range does not include current year values
Quest Diagnostics, Inc. DGX $10.2 Billion $55.00 10.24 7.80 » 20.83 1.38 0.97 » 2.29 8.88% 17.46%
Smith & Nephew PLC ADS SNN $9.3 Billion $49.10 12.56 6.14 » 27.53 2.54 1.18 » 4.62 12.57% 22.54%
CIGNA Corp. CI $9.0 Billion $33.08 11.91 4.05 » 52.79 0.49 0.11 » 1.00 0.31% 23.78%
Humana Inc. HUM $7.9 Billion $46.75 8.29 3.28 » 29.48 0.26 0.10 » 0.63 18.81% 15.42%
C.R. Bard, Inc. BCR $7.8 Billion $80.76 12.93 10.92 » 25.50 3.04 1.79 » 4.45 11.34% 20.66%
Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings LH $7.4 Billion $70.14 10.48 6.96 » 22.23 1.61 1.08 » 3.09 8.92% 23.12%
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8:16A, Feb. 05,2010 CI $33.52 CIGNA Corp.
Zero Hedge

Cost Structure at CIGNA Corporation Discussed on Zero Hedge

The best run companies in the world always have their costs in check. Recently, CI was mentioned in regards to costs on Zero Hedge.

CIGNA Corporation receives our Fairly Valued rating in our latest report because the current price does not seem out of line with the fundamentals. We noticed recently that in comparison to all other stocks we analyze in the news; CI has received less coverage from the financial media in business television and blogs. While bearish sentiment on a stock is not always a bad thing, it is something you need to be aware of. The Motley Fool survey of crowd sentiment shows that many investors believe this stock will underperform.

“… CIGNA swings to Q4 profit of $330M, topping estimates. Revs dip 3. 8% to $4. 64B. Colgate to buy back 40M shares over two years. …”

9:42A, Feb. 04,2010 CI $35.47 CIGNA Corp.
The Opening Bell on Fox Business

The Opening Bell on Fox Business Has News on CI

News has broken via the television and viral blogs regarding CI, so investors should take an interest in learning what was said.

The crowd at The Motley Fool does not like CI and believes that it will Underperform. After factoring in the current fundamentals versus their historically normal ranges, we have established a Fairly Valued stance on CI. As we analyze the results from RazorWire, one thing we do is rank each stock in terms of amount of news coverage. Recently, CI has been less covered in the news compared to the rest of our universe of stocks.

“… Look at CIGNA. It's a big health insurer of course, revenue town, profits up. And the smith klein glaxo no health care reform until next year. …”

7:19A, Feb. 04,2010 CI $34.76 CIGNA Corp.
Seeking Alpha Wall St Breakfast

News on Earnings Per Share for CI on Seeking Alpha Wall St Breakfast

We thought our clients would like to be aware of a news story involving CI's earnings per share.

CIGNA Corporation receives our Fairly Valued rating in our latest report because the current price does not seem out of line with the fundamentals. While bearish sentiment on a stock is not always a bad thing, it is something you need to be aware of. The Motley Fool survey of crowd sentiment shows that many investors believe this stock will underperform. We noticed recently that in comparison to all other stocks we analyze in the news; CI has received less coverage from the financial media in business television and blogs.

“… (PR) CIGNA (CI): Q4 EPS of $1. 03 beats by $0. 07. Revenue of $4. 6B (-3. 8%) in-line. (PR) Entegris (ENTG): Q4 EPS of $0. 12 beats by $0. 06. Revenue of $146M (+29. 8%) vs. …”

6:02A, Feb. 04,2010 CI $34.76 CIGNA Corp.
Imus In The Morning

Imus In The Morning: Discussion of CI's Earnings

Any suprise in earnings can cause a major swing in stock prices, so we are always on the lookout for the freshest news available for earnings reports or expectations.

CIGNA Corporation receives our Fairly Valued rating in our latest report because the current price does not seem out of line with the fundamentals. While bearish sentiment on a stock is not always a bad thing, it is something you need to be aware of. The Motley Fool survey of crowd sentiment shows that many investors believe this stock will underperform. Ranking all stocks in terms of news coverage offers some interesting data. In the case of CI, it is getting significantly more attention in recent news coverage than we are used to seeing.

“… We want to take a quick look at CIGNA earnings at this time, 1. 19 appears to be the first number, excluding items, adjusted 1. …”

3:34P, Jan. 26,2010 CI $34.74 CIGNA Corp.
Countdown to the Closing Bell

See Who is Talking About News from CI on Countdown to the Closing Bell

As always, the latest news on CI is available to Ockham clients through RazorWire, and it was mentioned recently on Countdown to the Closing Bell.

CIGNA Corporation receives our Fairly Valued rating in our latest report because the current price does not seem out of line with the fundamentals. We noticed recently that in comparison to all other stocks we analyze in the news; CI has received less coverage from the financial media in business television and blogs. While bearish sentiment on a stock is not always a bad thing, it is something you need to be aware of. The Motley Fool survey of crowd sentiment shows that many investors believe this stock will underperform.

“… Credit suisse raising g rice targets as a uresrlt of that one, the stock is up6% be right now, but CIGNA is in the rrrd. …”

3:02P, Jan. 21,2010 CI $37.29 CIGNA Corp.
Countdown to the Closing Bell

The Latest News for CI Was Just on Countdown to the Closing Bell

Staying informed on the news is invaluable for investors, and RazorWire has captured a recently discussion on CI from Countdown to the Closing Bell.

When taking into account the amount of news coverage each stock normally sees as a percentage of the total, CIGNA Corporation has actually sunk a bit in comparison to the others. Interestingly, overall sentiment looks bearish according to the Motley Fool's CAPS survey, as most of their users see CIGNA Corporation underperforming. The Ockham valuation currently has a Fairly Valued stance on CI because it trades within the price range that we would expect given current market conditions and fundamentals.

“… Lots of red arrows at that, and CIGNA and only one is bucking the trend for liz claman is in washington d. C. Where she just finished speaking with berkshire hathaway chairman ... …”

12:13P, Jan. 20,2010 CI $38.63 CIGNA Corp.
Fox Business

Fox Business Brings News Related to CIGNA Corporation

As always, the latest news on CI is available to Ockham clients through RazorWire, and it was mentioned recently on Fox Business.

The Ockham valuation currently has a Fairly Valued stance on CI because it trades within the price range that we would expect given current market conditions and fundamentals. Interestingly, overall sentiment looks bearish according to the Motley Fool's CAPS survey, as most of their users see CIGNA Corporation underperforming. When taking into account the amount of news coverage each stock normally sees as a percentage of the total, CIGNA Corporation has actually sunk a bit in comparison to the others.

“… The way we approached it was interesting, that public option you had mentioned a bit earlier as well as in the national insurance exchange that we were setting up, everybody blue ... …”

9:15A, Jan. 20,2010 CI $38.77 CIGNA Corp.
The Opening Bell on Fox Business

The Opening Bell on Fox Business Has the Latest News on CI

The latest news from business television and influential blogs is always available through Ockham's RazorWire, and this news is in relation to CIGNA Corporation.

As we analyze the results from RazorWire, one thing we do is rank each stock in terms of amount of news coverage. Recently, CI has been less covered in the news compared to the rest of our universe of stocks. Check the news on this stock because there is a catalyst that has allowed this stock to advance 5.24% today. The crowd at The Motley Fool does not like CI and believes that it will Underperform. After factoring in the current fundamentals versus their historically normal ranges, we have established a Fairly Valued stance on CI.

“… shifts and puts the direction of the policy under the microscope. Aetna, CIGNA, united health, humana, all of the stocks, look …”

8:22A, Jan. 20,2010 CI $37.85 CIGNA Corp.
Imus In The Morning

Imus In The Morning: What is Happening with CIGNA Corporation Now?

CIGNA Corporation is one of the thousands of companies that Ockham has news analytics on, and it was recently discussed on Imus In The Morning.

While bearish sentiment on a stock is not always a bad thing, it is something you need to be aware of. The Motley Fool survey of crowd sentiment shows that many investors believe this stock will underperform. CIGNA Corporation receives our Fairly Valued rating in our latest report because the current price does not seem out of line with the fundamentals. We noticed recently that in comparison to all other stocks we analyze in the news; CI has received less coverage from the financial media in business television and blogs.

“… The health care sector, by the way, is in focus today, aetna, CIGNA, united health, humana rising between 3 and 7% yesterday. …”

7:35A, Jan. 20,2010 CI $37.85 CIGNA Corp.
Imus In The Morning

Holding CI Stock? See What Is Being Discussed on Imus In The Morning

The latest news from Imus In The Morning on CI is available through Ockham's news analytics platform RazorWire.

The Ockham valuation currently has a Fairly Valued stance on CI because it trades within the price range that we would expect given current market conditions and fundamentals. Interestingly, overall sentiment looks bearish according to the Motley Fool's CAPS survey, as most of their users see CIGNA Corporation underperforming. When taking into account the amount of news coverage each stock normally sees as a percentage of the total, CIGNA Corporation has actually sunk a bit in comparison to the others.

“… Aetna, CIGNA, humana up between 3 and 7% in trade agoen astrazeneca and glaxo-smithsmithkline among the stocks rising, but nancy pelosi says the bill is on course. …”

View All CIGNA Corp. Stock News

Key Fundamentals

CI - CIGNA Corporation Fundamentals
Price (2/9 3:33PM) $33.62
Volume (2/9 3:33PM) 2.4 Million
Last Close Price $33.08
10 Day Average Volume 4.6 Million
13 Week Price Range $28.95 - $39.26
52 Week Price Range $12.68 - $39.26
LTM Revenue $18.6 Billion
 
Shares Outstanding (12/2008) 273.4 Million
Market Capitalization $9.0 Billion
Shares Held By Institutions 231.1 Million
Institutional Holders 592
% Shares Held By Institutions 84.70%
Earnings Per Share (EPS) $1.05
P/E Ratio 11.90
Book Value Per Share $18.86
 
Gross Margin n/a%
Annual Dividend 0.04
Dividend Yield 0.10%
Beta 1.83
Fiscal Year Ends December

About CIGNA Corp.

CIGNA Corporation is considered to operate in the Healthcare sector. They specifically operate in the Health Care Plans business segment contained within the Health Services industry.

The Company and its subsidiaries constitute as an investor-owned health service organizations in the United States.