Centene (NYSE:CNC) PT Lowered to $89.00

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $89.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens restated an equal weight rating and set a $85.00 price target (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $85.08.

Centene Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE CNC opened at $71.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.43. Centene has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The company has a market capitalization of $38.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Centene

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 1,401.4% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 46,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,901,000 after acquiring an additional 43,247 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Centene by 7.2% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Centene by 104.7% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 43,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 22,382 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Centene during the first quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its position in Centene by 10.0% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 37,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,149,000 after acquiring an additional 3,414 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

About Centene

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.