Centene Corporation (CNC) – What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.05.

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Zacks Research downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, September 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Silicon Valley Capital Partners purchased a new position in Centene during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Bayban acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $67.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Centene has a 1 year low of $31.63 and a 1 year high of $72.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.72.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.16) EPS. Centene’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation is a diversified healthcare enterprise that provides government-sponsored and commercial health insurance programs and related healthcare services. The company’s offerings are primarily focused on Medicaid, Medicare, and health insurance marketplace plans, with an emphasis on serving individuals and families who may have limited access to traditional healthcare coverage.

Centene operates Medicaid health plans through state-based contracts and offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug, and Medicare Supplement products through its Wellcare brand.