Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Stock Has Average Target Price of $70.05

Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.05.

A number of research firms have recently commented on CNC. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, October 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 29th.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $68.59 on Tuesday. Centene has a 1-year low of $31.63 and a 1-year high of $71.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.46 and a 200-day moving average of $60.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $33.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.57, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.13.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.16) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Centene will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. The trade was a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Centene in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,660,422,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Centene by 423.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,301,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10,757,914 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Centene by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,517,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,173,000 after purchasing an additional 608,249 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Centene by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,518,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,818,000 after purchasing an additional 802,756 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at $285,713,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

About Centene

Centene Corporation is a diversified healthcare enterprise that provides government-sponsored and commercial health insurance programs and related healthcare services. The company’s offerings are primarily focused on Medicaid, Medicare, and health insurance marketplace plans, with an emphasis on serving individuals and families who may have limited access to traditional healthcare coverage.

Centene operates Medicaid health plans through state-based contracts and offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug, and Medicare Supplement products through its Wellcare brand.