Centene (CNC) Given New $122.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price objective lifted by Oppenheimer from $111.00 to $122.00 in a report released on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.86% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $107.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Piper Jaffray Companies reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, September 1st. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 24th. Finally, Jefferies Group lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $98.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.94.

Shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) traded up $3.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $100.94. 2,310,100 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,695,599. The firm has a market capitalization of $16,899.44, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Centene has a twelve month low of $55.89 and a twelve month high of $103.15.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $11.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.75 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.81% and a return on equity of 14.79%. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. analysts anticipate that Centene will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

In other Centene news, Director Robert K. Ditmore sold 4,167 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.42, for a total transaction of $376,780.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,726,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,113,000 after buying an additional 774,474 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,154,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,504,000 after buying an additional 35,040 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 47.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,181,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,999,000 after buying an additional 1,676,688 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 12.4% in the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,193,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,973,000 after buying an additional 462,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 6.7% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,398,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,137,000 after buying an additional 149,743 shares during the last quarter. 91.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation is a healthcare company. The Company provides a portfolio of services to government sponsored healthcare programs, focusing on under-insured and uninsured individuals. The Company operates through two segments: Managed Care and Specialty Services. The Company’s Managed Care segment provides health plan coverage to individuals, through government subsidized programs, including Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Long Term Care, Foster Care, dual-eligible individuals (Duals) and the Supplemental Security Income Program, also known as the Aged, Blind or Disabled Program (ABD), Medicare, and Health Insurance Marketplace.

Analyst Recommendations for Centene (NYSE:CNC)