Shares of Cigna Corp CI, +1.82% slipped 0.9% in premarket trading Thursday, after the health insurer reported both fourth-quarter adjusted profit and revenue that rose above expectations and raised its dividend by 12%, but provided a downbeat outlook. Net income was $1.12 billion, or $3.39 a share, compared with $4.14 billion, or $11.45 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share rose to $4.77 from $3.51 to beat the FactSet consensus of $4.71. Revenue grew 9.5% to $45.69 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $43.99 billion. Total customer relationships increased 7.2% to 185.67 million. Separately, the company said it raised its quarterly dividend to $1.12 a share from $1.00 a share, with the new dividend payable March 24 to shareholders of record on March 9. For 2022, the company expects adjusted EPS of “at least” $22.40, below the current FactSet consensus of $25.11. The stock has gained 5.4% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX, +0.94% has eased 0.9%.
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