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

Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.4375.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $42.00 target price on Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in Centene by 102.5% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 127,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,544,000 after acquiring an additional 64,475 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 18,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 8,295 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Centene by 28.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Centene by 12.8% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 58,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after buying an additional 6,575 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 24.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 2,024 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $39.58 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.66, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.18 and its 200 day moving average is $35.92. Centene has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $66.81.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.71. The business had revenue of $49.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.50 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.