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

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.50.

CNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Mizuho set a $63.00 target price on Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Centene from $48.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oracle Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,936,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 451.2% in the third quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 181,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,490,000 after buying an additional 148,900 shares in the last quarter. Delta Global Management LP grew its position in Centene by 96.5% during the third quarter. Delta Global Management LP now owns 78,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,808,000 after acquiring an additional 38,640 shares during the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 401.4% during the third quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 64,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,301,000 after acquiring an additional 51,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,566,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Centene stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,186,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,975,512. Centene has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $69.29. The company has a market capitalization of $33.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Centene will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current 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.