Stock Update (NYSE:AET): Aetna and Roxborough Memorial Hospital Agree to Three-Year Contract

[ Business Wire] – Aetna and Roxborough Memorial Hospital announced that they have reached agreement on a new three-year contract that took effect Feb. 1. The agreement returns Roxborough Memorial Hospital to Aetna’s network of contracted hospitals for the first time since 2012. Read more on this. Aetna Inc. (AET) , valued at $36.95B, opened at $107.02. Shares have traded today between $105.24 and $107.19 per share with a trailing 52-week range being $92.42 to $134.40. AET shares are currently priced at 13.40x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry ’s 12.50x earnings multiple for the same period. The company pays shareholders $1.00 per share in dividend income per year, for a current yield of 0.97%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 21 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $2.23 per share, which would be $0.16 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.17 sequential decrease. Investors should also note that the full-year EPS estimate of $7.95 is a $0.24 improvement when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $15.48 Billion. If realized, that would be a 2.58% increase over the year-ago quarter. More recently, 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 $136.65, which is 27.69% above where the stock opened. See more in (NYSE:AET) Similar Articles: Stock Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna Announces Transaction with Vitality Re VII Stock Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna Introduces Medicare Advantage Plan with Uniontown Hospital Stock Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna Announces Special Shareholder Meeting Will Be Held October 19, 2015