Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Cantor Fitzgerald Analyst Says

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.60% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CNC. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Centene from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.61.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $66.02 on Tuesday. 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 has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $69.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.18. The company has a market cap of $32.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.02, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Somerset Trust Co acquired a new stake in Centene in the second quarter worth approximately $230,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Centene by 112.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 8,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 4,482 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its position in Centene by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 8,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 107.3% in the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its position in shares of Centene by 1.0% in the first quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 1,010,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,082,000 after purchasing an additional 9,540 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.