Cigna profit, shares decline
Cigna Corp. posted a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and forecast 2012 earnings below Wall Street’s target, sending shares down nearly 3.4 percent Thursday.
The health insurance giant, which employs more than 1,500 workers at its Chattanooga claims processing center, said its fourth-quarter net income fell to $290 million, or $1.04 per share, from $461 million or $1.69 per share a year earlier.
Excluding special items, Cigna’s earnings of $1.11 per share missed the analysts’ average estimate by 8 cents, according to Thomson Reuters estimates.
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