Centene (NYSE:CNC) Given New $37.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $43.00 to $37.00 in a research report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 8.70% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on CNC. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $38.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price objective on Centene in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.81.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $40.53 on Friday. Centene has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $66.03. The company has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.13 and a 200 day moving average of $36.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $49.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.41 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 4.25% and a negative net margin of 3.43%.The company’s revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Centene during the first quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 80.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 4,315 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Centene by 198.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 90.4% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Centene by 5.7% in the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 465,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,278,000 after acquiring an additional 25,029 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.