Stock Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna Announces Transaction with Vitality Re VII

[Business Wire] – Aetna today announced that it has entered into a four-year reinsurance arrangement with Vitality Re VII Limited as part of its long-term capital management strategy. The arrangement allows Aetna to reduce its required capital and provides $200 million of collateralized excess of loss reinsurance coverage on a portion of Aetna’s group commercial health insurance business.1 Vitality Re VII is a newly … Read more on this. Aetna Inc. (AET) , with a current value of $34.45B, started trading this morning at $102.00. Looking at today’s trading action, the company’s one day range from $98.40 to $102.87 with its 52-week range being $90.20 to $134.40. AET shares are currently priced at 13.92x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry ’s 12.96x earnings multiple for the same period. The company pays shareholders $1.00 per share in dividend income per year, for a current yield of 0.95%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 20 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $1.21 per share, which would be $0.01 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.02 sequential decrease. Furthermore, our analysis shows the full-year EPS estimate to be $7.54, which would be a $0.84 better when compared to the last year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $14.93 Billion. If reported, that would be a 1.08% increase over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Jefferies downgraded AET from Buy to Hold (Jan 8, 2016). Previously, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded AET from Hold to Buy. The average price target for AET shares by the analysts covering it is $138.00, which is 35.29% above where the stock opened. See more in (NYSE:AET) Similar Articles: Company Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna Announces Appearance at 34th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Stock Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna Announces Special Shareholder Meeting Will Be Held October 19, 2015 Stock Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna and MemorialCare Announce New Accountable Care Collaboration in Southern California