Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target to $89.00

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $89.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CNC. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $85.08.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock opened at $72.70 on Monday. Centene has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The company has a market capitalization of $38.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $77.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.47.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released 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. The company had revenue of $39.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Centene in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other 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.