Centene (NYSE:CNC) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Centene (NYSE:CNC) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 6.700- for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 6.780. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $78.42 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Centene has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42. The firm has a market cap of $41.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.38.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.02. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm had revenue of $39.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Centene will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CNC shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Stephens restated an equal weight rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Centene from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $85.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FIL Ltd grew its stake in shares of Centene by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 667,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,536,000 after buying an additional 13,647 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Centene by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 25,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Centene by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 216,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,074,000 after purchasing an additional 10,057 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Centene by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,579,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,845,000 after acquiring an additional 690,659 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.