Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.8125.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th.

Centene Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $36.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. Centene has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $66.03.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $49.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.41 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a positive return on equity of 4.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. Analysts expect that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,308,518,000 after buying an additional 17,143,904 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth $332,044,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 184.0% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860,630 shares in the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth $186,662,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Centene by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,171,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,472,341 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

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.