Centene (NYSE:CNC) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Centene (NYSE:CNC) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 6.700- for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 6.780. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Centene Stock Up 1.0 %

Centene stock opened at $78.35 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Centene has a 1-year low of $60.83 and a 1-year high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $39.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an overweight rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $85.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Centene by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 667,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,536,000 after acquiring an additional 13,647 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Centene by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 25,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 216,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,074,000 after acquiring an additional 10,057 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Centene by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,579,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,845,000 after purchasing an additional 690,659 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.