Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target Raised to $93.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Stephens restated an equal weight rating and set a $85.00 price target (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays initiated coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an overweight rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $85.38.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $73.75 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38. Centene has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. QV Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of Centene by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 305,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,655,000 after acquiring an additional 33,350 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Centene by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,239,000 after acquiring an additional 231,931 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $2,349,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Centene by 57.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 187,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,941,000 after buying an additional 68,854 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Centene by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 186,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,817,000 after buying an additional 14,070 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.