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

Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.7778.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Centene from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Centene by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,518,000 after acquiring an additional 17,143,904 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $332,044,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. boosted its position in Centene by 184.0% during the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after acquiring an additional 5,860,630 shares during the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth $186,662,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,171,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,472,341 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Centene News

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC started coverage on Centene with a “sector perform” rating and a $70 price target, implying upside from current levels and reinforcing investor confidence in the stock. RBC coverage on Centene
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Centene as a Strong Buy growth stock and also called it a strong value and strong momentum name, suggesting improving market sentiment around the shares. Zacks growth stocks list
• Positive Sentiment: Centene announced the appointment of Lauren M. Tyler to its Board of Directors, a governance move that can be viewed as a sign of continued board refreshment and strategic oversight. Centene appoints Lauren M. Tyler to board
• Neutral Sentiment: Health Net said it is providing special assistance to members and providers affected by the Palos warehouse fire in Los Angeles; this is operationally supportive but not likely to materially change Centene’s fundamentals on its own. Health Net wildfire assistance
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces on Centene’s governance, efficiency, and style scores mainly reinforce the investment case rather than introduce a new catalyst. Centene governance and efficiency article

Centene Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $63.36 on Wednesday. Centene has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $66.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $55.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.50.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Centene will post 3.45 earnings per share 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.