Cigna Group (CI) stock analysis
Cigna Group (CI) clears 6 of this site's 8 mechanical value filters, 5 of 8 Buffett-style checks and 3 of 5 Lynch-style checks. At $315.88 it trades 51.7% below this site's neutral DCF value (a margin of safety of +51.7%). Its earnings quality rates Strong and it returns +6.1% to shareholders net of dilution. Figures are as of October 23, 2026, from SEC filings and market data refreshed weekly; this is educational analysis, not investment advice.
Data as of October 23, 2026. Refreshed weekly from SEC filings and market data.
What does Cigna do?
Cigna sells health insurance and runs Evernorth, which includes Express Scripts, one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers (it negotiates drug prices and runs mail-order pharmacy for employers and insurers).
Brands and businesses it owns
- Cigna Healthcare
- Evernorth
- Express Scripts
- Accredo
- MDLIVE
What stands out about Cigna?
- The share price implies shrinking cash flow. At $315.88, CI's free cash flow of $38.31 per share would have to shrink 9.6% a year at first, then recover to 2.5% growth by year 10, for this site's DCF (10% discount rate) to match the price. This site's baseline starts at 8% growth, so the price asks for less growth than the baseline. Change the assumptions.
- Misses 2 of the 8 value filters. It fails vs 50-day MA (±12%) (+12.3%) and vs 200-day MA (±12%) (+12.4%); the other 6 pass. See every filter.
- The margin of safety is falling. It went from +57% on Oct 7 to +52% on Oct 23 across 5 weekly readings. See the trend.
- Close to its 52-week high. At $315.88, CI is within 0.0% of its high of $315.87, 29.2% above its low of $244.41. See the range.
- Strongest against peers: free-cash-flow yield. At 12.1% (peer median 5.5%) it ranks 3rd of 34 among health care stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
How has Cigna's share price moved?
The interactive price chart needs JavaScript.
Is Cigna undervalued? The value diligence check
Every value-investing signal this site computes for this stock, gathered in one place: the same real numbers from the tools below, not a new score.
- Margin of safety (DCF) +51.7%
- P/E vs. its own history 12.6x · near the cheap end Real range: 11.8x–20.7x over 5 years (net income per diluted share from each fiscal year's 10-K, paired with the real closing price at that fiscal year-end).
- Wall St. analyst rating Buy · 4.00/5 35 analysts this month: 9 strong buy, 17 buy, 9 hold, 0 sell, 0 strong sell (Finnhub). Down from 4.03 last month.
- Altman Z″-Score (bankruptcy risk) 1.40 · Grey zone
- Earnings quality (is the profit real?) Strong · all 5 checks clean Beneish M-score −2.29 · accruals −2.3% of assets · 218% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 0.1% of revenue · share count −4.9% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Dec 2025) - see the Earnings Quality Screener for how each check is scored.
- Shareholder yield (cash back to owners) +6.1% net Latest fiscal year (2025): dividends 2.0% + buybacks 4.5% − stock comp 0.4%, as a share of today's market cap. Over 14 years its split-adjusted share count fell 2%. See Shareholder Yield Leaders.
- Capital needed to grow (See's test) $4.54 per $1 of new profit · Capital-hungry · but only 15% return on capital Operating profit $3.7B → $9.1B, capital needed $38B → $62B, 2016–2025 (3-year averages); return on capital now 15% before tax. Buffett's See's Candies needed $0.42 per $1 of new profit, FlightSafety $3.20, a typical grower about $5. See Capital-Light Compounders.
- PEG (growth at a reasonable price) 1.33 · Above fair P/E 12.6× ÷ 9.5% a year of growth behind it. 141st lowest of 447 stocks with a usable PEG. Lynch's fair value is a PEG of 1; a very high PEG usually means almost no growth, a very low one a profit spike. See PEG Ratio Ranking.
- Compounder lenses (4) 3 of 4 · misses capital-light Capital-light growth: not cleared (only 15% return on capital); Profit is real: cleared; Cash to owners: cleared; Fair price (PEG): cleared. See Compounders at a Fair Price, which also lets you move the PEG bar.
- Value trap check Clear
- Munger's Inversion Check 0 flags
- Standing vs. sector peers 4 of 7 measures above the median Compared with the 33 other health care stocks this site tracks: 3 in the top third, 1 in the bottom third.
- Dividend payout sustainability 0/6 · clean
How does Cigna compare with its peers?
4 of 7 measures sit above the median of the 33 other health care stocks tracked here, 3 in the top third and 1 in the bottom third.
- P/E ratiolower is cheaper · peer median 24.6× 12.6× ✓3rd of 32
- Free-cash-flow yieldhigher is cheaper · peer median 5.5% 12.1% ✓3rd of 34
- Return on equityhigher is better · peer median 15% 15% –16th of 34
- Net marginhigher is better · peer median 9.3% 2.3% ✕27th of 34
- Revenue growthhigher is better, year on year · peer median 8.6% 7.8% –20th of 34
- Debt / equitylower is safer · peer median 0.69 0.75 –23rd of 34
- Dividend yieldamong dividend payers · peer median 1.10% 2.00% ✓6th of 21
Peers are the stocks this site tracks in the same sector group, not every listed competitor. The bar runs from the weakest peer (left) to the strongest (right); the tick is the middle. Measures that don't apply to a sector (cash-flow yield for banks, debt for financials) are left out.
What would Buffett & Lynch say?
Buffett's checklist is built around durable, profitable businesses bought at sensible prices, and CI doesn't clear enough of it yet. In its favor: CI is currently earning a strong return on shareholders' equity, and has kept that profitability up over five years, not just this year, earns many times its interest expense, so debt service isn't a worry, is trading below what a conservative discounted-cash-flow estimate says it's worth - his own "price is what you pay, value is what you get" test, not a fixed multiple ceiling, and trades at a reasonable multiple of owner earnings, his own term for the real cash a business could pay out. Where it comes up short: CI carries more debt relative to equity than he typically tolerates, runs thinner pretax margins than he'd like to see, and hasn't grown earnings per share fast enough over five years to impress him.
- ROE (TTM) > 11% ✓
- ROE (5yr avg) > 11% ✓
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✕
- Pretax margin > 15% ✕
- EPS growth (5yr) > 7% ✕
- Interest coverage > 5x ✓
- Trading below intrinsic value (DCF) ✓
- Price vs. owner earnings < 25x ✓
- Bonus: returning capital via buybacks FY2025
Lynch looked for growth stories that weren't overpriced for that growth, and CI falls short of his bar. In its favor: CI is growing earnings 20-50% a year, his classic fast-grower zone, isn't asking too much even by a fast grower's usual richer multiple, and is generating real cash to back up a fast grower's higher price tag. Where it comes up short: CI doesn't clear the tighter PEG bar a fast grower needs to justify its pace, and is leaning on more debt than he liked a growth story to carry.
- PEG < 1 (stricter for fast growers) ✕
- EPS growth 20%-50% ✓
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✕
- P/E < 40 ✓
- Price/FCF < 40 ✓
Quantitative approximations of each investor's documented approach, not endorsed by either investor or their estates - commentary, not this site's actual ranking criteria. Buffett never published a numeric checklist: only 2 of his 8 checks here trace to his own documented concepts ("owner earnings," from his 1986 shareholder letter, and "price is what you pay, value is what you get," his case against fixed P/E/P/B ceilings) - the other 6 (ROE, debt, margins, growth, interest coverage) use commonly-cited thresholds that are not numbers he himself published. The 8 hard filters below (plus the Munger check and Graham margin of safety) are this site's real, mechanical screen and are computed completely independently of the checklists above.
Berkshire Hathaway's own filing
Which of the 8 value filters does Cigna pass?
- Market Cap > $25B $81.1B
- Trailing P/E < 25 12.63
- PEG Ratio < 1.5 1.33
- Price/Book < 8 1.90
- Price/Sales < 7 0.29
- EPS Growth YoY > -5% +10.1%
- vs 50-day MA (±12%) +12.3%
- vs 200-day MA (±12%) +12.4%
What is Cigna's margin of safety?
+57% on 2026-10-07 → +52% on 2026-10-23 (5 weekly readings).
Where is Cigna in its 52-week range?
What is the short interest in Cigna?
6,951,241 shares short as of 2026-09-30 (FINRA settlement date). Reported twice a month, so this only changes roughly every two weeks, not daily.
What could go wrong with Cigna? Munger's inversion check
"Invert, always invert." Instead of reasons to buy, these are reasons to hesitate, not a verdict, and not everything worth knowing about a business.
- Margin of safety, even in the bull case +71%
- Short interest under 5% of float 2.7%
- Passes most of the 6 fundamental filters 6/6 passed
- Price run-up backed by value, not just momentum +29% off 52wk low
- Debt/equity stable since 2016 0.37 → 0.75
Doesn't cover circle of competence, management quality, or accounting concerns: those need judgment, not data.
How much have Cigna shareholders gained per year?
Earnings growth per share plus dividend.
An earnings-based proxy, not a stock-price total return - it doesn't capture multiple expansion/contraction or reinvested dividends. EPS from CI's own 10-K filings; dividend yield is the current trailing yield on today's price, from the same weekly fetch as the rest of this site.
What do Cigna's 10-year financials show?
From CI's own 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR): up to the last 10 fiscal years. Press any year's bars for the exact figures.
Frequently asked questions about Cigna
What kind of company is Cigna?
Cigna sells health insurance and runs Evernorth, which includes Express Scripts, one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers (it negotiates drug prices and runs mail-order pharmacy for employers and insurers). Brands and businesses it owns include Cigna Healthcare, Evernorth, Express Scripts, Accredo and MDLIVE. This site groups it with Health Care stocks.
Is Cigna trading above or below its DCF value?
At $315.88, CI trades 51.7% below this site's neutral DCF value of $654.20 per share, a margin of safety of +51.7%. That DCF projects free cash flow for 10 years, with growth starting at 8% and fading to 2.5%, discounted at 10%; it is one set of assumptions, not a forecast. Test your own in the Intrinsic Value Calculator.
How many of this site's 8 value filters does Cigna pass?
CI passes 6 of 8. It passes Market Cap > $25B ($81.1B), Trailing P/E < 25 (12.63), PEG Ratio < 1.5 (1.33), Price/Book < 8 (1.90), Price/Sales < 7 (0.29) and EPS Growth YoY > -5% (+10.1%). It misses vs 50-day MA (±12%) (+12.3%) and vs 200-day MA (±12%) (+12.4%). The 8-filter list shows every stock that passes all of them.
How fast has Cigna grown its revenue and profit?
From fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2025, CI's revenue grew from $39.8 billion to $274.9 billion, 23.9% a year. Net income went from $1.8 billion to $6.3 billion, and its net profit margin from 4.6% to 2.3%. Earnings per share went from $7.10 to $23.41 on today's share count, 14.2% a year. All figures are from CI's own 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR) and are shown year by year in the 10-Year Financials section of the card above.
Where is Cigna trading compared with its 52-week range?
At $315.88, CI is at its 52-week high of $315.87, 29.2% above its 52-week low of $244.41.
When does Cigna report earnings next?
Cigna's next earnings report is expected on November 5, 2026 before the market opens, with analysts expecting earnings of $7.72 per share. Dates come from the Finnhub earnings calendar and can move. In its last 4 quarters it beat the estimate 0 times, by an average of −0.6%.
Where do these numbers come from?
- Financial statements: Cigna's 10-K annual report for the year ended Dec 31, 2025, filed Feb 26, 2026 (filing index). Every earlier year in the 10-year financials comes from the company's older 10-K filings, all listed on SEC EDGAR.
- Prices and market data: quotes, P/E and analyst ratings from Finnhub; daily price history and the 52-week range from Twelve Data, both refreshed weekly. Short interest comes from FINRA, reported twice a month.
- How to check a figure: click any number in the card above to see its exact source, and read the Editorial Standards for every rule behind the checks.
About this Cigna Group analysis
This page shows every value-investing check the site runs on Cigna Group (CI) in one place: the 8 mechanical filters, the Buffett and Lynch checklists, a margin of safety from a disclosed DCF, earnings quality, shareholder yield and how it ranks against its sector peers. The numbers come from SEC filings and public market data, refreshed weekly, and the same rules apply to every stock on the stock list. See Editorial Standards for the sources and the rules, or run your own filters in the stock screener.