Stock Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – California insurance commissioner urges DOJ to block Aetna-Humana deal

[Reuters] – California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones weighed in on Thursday against health insurer Aetna Inc.’s proposed $34 billion acquisition of Humana Inc., urging national antitrust regulators to block the … Read more on this. Aetna Inc. (AET) , with a current market cap of $42.41B, began trading this morning at $121.72. During the trading session, AET traded between $120.16 to $121.72 with its 52-week range being $92.42 to $134.40. AET shares are currently priced at 14.96x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 8.54x forward p/e ratio. And for those looking to make a return holding the stock, the company pays shareholders $1.00 per share annually in dividends, yielding 0.82%. 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. In looking at the bigger picture, the full-year EPS estimate of $8.03 would be a $0.32 improvement when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $15.70 Billion. If reported, that would be a 3.77% increase over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Bernstein Initiated AET at Outperform (Jun 16, 2016). Previously, Jefferies downgraded AET from Buy to Hold. The average price target for AET shares by the analysts covering it is $139.29, which is 14.43% above where the stock opened. See more in (NYSE:AET) Similar Articles: Stock Update (NYSE:AET): California regulator approves Aetna-Humana deal with conditions Stock Update (NYSE:CI): Calif. insurance commissioner urges U.S. to block Anthem-Cigna deal Market Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna’s deal for Humana will push up costs for seniors – think tank