Oppenheimer Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Centene (NYSE:CNC)

Centene (NYSE:CNC)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by investment analysts at Oppenheimer in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 48.59% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays started coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.25.

Centene Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE CNC traded up $0.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $74.03. 2,600,995 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,090,520. The company has a market capitalization of $39.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $76.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Centene has a twelve month low of $60.83 and a twelve month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of Centene 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 transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,325,441,000. Harris Associates L P lifted its position in shares of Centene by 172.8% in the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,170,000 after purchasing an additional 6,881,450 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 8.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,351,000 after purchasing an additional 704,684 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Centene by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,619,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,878,000 after purchasing an additional 385,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Centene by 7.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,023,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,918,000 after purchasing an additional 408,525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

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.