Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.0625.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Centene from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Centene from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Mizuho set a $41.00 price target on Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 66.0% during the 3rd quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 85,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,041,000 after purchasing an additional 33,875 shares during the period. Packer & Co Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at $50,487,000. ARGA Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Centene in the third quarter valued at $21,485,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Centene by 122.5% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 223,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,962,000 after buying an additional 122,870 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Centene by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,384,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,724,000 after buying an additional 199,016 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Down 0.3%

Centene stock opened at $34.47 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.48. 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 fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $66.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.46.

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

About Centene

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.