Centene (NYSE:CNC) Trading 4% Higher – Time to Buy?

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)’s stock price shot up 4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $63.73 and last traded at $63.15. 1,987,178 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 4,583,897 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

Centene Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.35. The stock has a market cap of $30.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Centene by 3.1% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank increased its position in Centene by 7.7% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 27,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,693,000 after buying an additional 1,988 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Centene by 8.8% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $621,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 122.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 91,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,514,000 after acquiring an additional 50,066 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

About Centene

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.