Centene (NYSE:CNC) Upgraded by Argus to Hold Rating

Argus upgraded shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CNC. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group set a $42.00 price objective on Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $43.00 price objective on Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.25.

Centene Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of CNC stock opened at $39.61 on Monday. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $66.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.47 billion, a PE ratio of -2.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.15.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 455.6% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Centene by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 44.5% in the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 11,011.1% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.