Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) from an underperform rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $64.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $53.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stephens dropped their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.85.

Centene Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:CNC opened at $62.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.80. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children’s health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.