Market Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna Offering Individual Products under Accountable Care Agreements with PinnacleHealth and Valley Preferred

[Business Wire] – Aetna has begun offering individual health plans built around its accountable care arrangements with PinnacleHealth System and Valley Preferred, a preferred provider organization affiliated with Lehigh Valley Health Network. Read more on this. Aetna Inc. (AET) , valued at $38.32B, started the session at $109.87. Looking at the stock, its one day range is $109.13 to $110.45 and has traded between $87.25 and $134.40 over the past 12 months. Priced at 14.44x this year’s forecasted earnings, AET shares are relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 14.03x forward p/e ratio. And for passive income investors, the company pays shareholders $1.00 per share annually in dividends, yielding 0.92%. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 20 sell-side analysts are looking at $1.21 per share, which would be $0.01 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.12 sequential decrease. The full-year EPS estimate is $7.54, which would be a $0.84 better than last year. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $14.95 Billion. If reported, that would be a 1.22% increase over the year-ago quarter. More recently, BofA/Merrill upgraded AET from Neutral to Buy (Jul 30, 2015). Previously, FBR Capital downgraded AET from Outperform to Mkt Perform. The average price target for AET shares by the analysts covering it is $139.47, which is 26.94% above where the stock opened. See more in (NYSE:AET) Similar Articles: Market Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna Reaches Pay-for-Performance Agreement with Regional Women Health Group Company Update (NYSE:AET): Aetna Signs Accountable Care Arrangements with Mercy Health System, St. Mary Medical Center Stock Update: Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) – Aetna and MemorialCare Announce New Accountable Care Collaboration in Southern California