Centene (NYSE:CNC) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

CNC has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up from $54.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Centene from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 target price (up from $45.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.82.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $54.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $27.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.06. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $64.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Centene will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.1% in the first quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 52,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 44.5% in the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Affinity Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 316 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.