Leerink Partnrs Reduces Earnings Estimates for CVS Health

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) – Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs cut their FY2024 earnings estimates for CVS Health in a report released on Monday, January 27th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the pharmacy operator will post earnings per share of $5.16 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $5.21. The consensus estimate for CVS Health’s current full-year earnings is $5.22 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for CVS Health’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.94 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.20 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.58 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.67 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.32 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.77 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.10 EPS.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on CVS. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho cut their target price on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on CVS Health from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.12.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS stock opened at $56.20 on Tuesday. CVS Health has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $80.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 14.6% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 20,188 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,578 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $795,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,269,000. Wallace Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the second quarter worth $457,000. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 16.4% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 82,350 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $4,864,000 after buying an additional 11,617 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.73%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.51%.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services.