CIGNA Corp. Earnings: Earnings Higher Than Expected

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI) reported net income above Wall Street’s expectations for the third quarter. Cigna’s subsidiaries provide health care and related benefits, including health care products and services, group disability, life, and accident insurance.

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CIGNA Corporation Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Net income for CIGNA Corporation rose to $466 million ($1.61 per share) vs. $183 million (67 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This is a more than twofold rise from the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 31.2% to $7.36 billion from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: CIGNA Corporation reported adjusted net income of $1.69 per share. By that measure, the company beat the mean estimate of $1.37 per share. It beat the average revenue estimate of $6.71 billion.

Quoting Management: “Our differentiated approach to understanding and helping our global clients and customers as well as partnering with physicians continues to deliver real value. Our third quarter 2012 results were strong, driven by consistent and disciplined execution of our strategy,” said David M. Cordani, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We continue to make strategic investments to position Cigna to deliver long-term value for the benefit of our customers and shareholders.”

Key Stats:

The company has now beaten estimates the last two quarters. In the second quarter, it topped expectations with net income of $1.49 versus a mean estimate of net income of $1.43 per share.

Looking Forward: For next quarter, analysts have a more positive outlook about the company’s expected results. The average estimate for the fourth quarter is $1.44 per share, up from $1.41 ninety days ago. For the fiscal year, the average estimate has moved down from $5.55 a share to $5.53 over the last sixty days.

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(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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