Stock Update (NYSE:AET): Aetna-Humana tie-up is anti-competitive in Missouri – state regulator

[Reuters] – A tie-up of Aetna Inc and Humana Inc would be anti-competitive in Missouri for several types of insurance, including individual Medicare Advantage plans where the combined company would have more than a 50 percent market share, the Missouri Department of Insurance said. The department said in an order, dated May 24 and posted on its website, that if the proposed acquisition of Humana by Aetna were to go forward, the companies would need to stop selling individual insurance, small group and certain Medicare Advantage plans in its state. Aetna announced plans last year to buy smaller rival Humana. Read more on this. Aetna Inc. (AET) , currently valued at $39.86B, started the session at $112.31. Looking at the equity, the company’s one day range is $111.87 to $113.85 and has traded between $92.42 and $134.40 over the past year. Priced at 13.90x this year’s forecasted earnings, AET shares are relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 8.29x forward p/e ratio. The company pays shareholders $1.00 per share annually in dividends, yielding 0.91%. Consensus earnings for the current quarter by the 20 sell-side analysts covering the stock is an estimate of $2.12 per share, which would be $0.07 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.01 sequential decrease. The full-year EPS estimate is $8.03, which would be a $0.32 better than last year. The quarterly earnings estimate is based on a consensus revenue forecast of the current quarter of $15.73 Billion. If realized, that would be a 3.97% 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 is $139.20, which is 23.94% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:AET) Similar Articles: Stock Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna Announces Executive Appearance at Upcoming Barclays Global Healthcare Conference 2016 Stock Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna Announces Transaction with Vitality Re VII Market Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna’s deal for Humana will push up costs for seniors – think tank