Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target Lowered to $37.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its target price reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $43.00 to $37.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CNC. Argus upgraded Centene to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $43.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.81.

Centene Trading Up 3.4%

CNC stock opened at $40.53 on Friday. Centene has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $66.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.03. Centene had a positive return on equity of 4.25% and a negative net margin of 3.43%.The business had revenue of $49.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CNC. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Centene by 66.0% in the 3rd quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 85,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,041,000 after purchasing an additional 33,875 shares in the last quarter. Packer & Co Ltd bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,487,000. ARGA Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,485,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Centene by 122.5% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 223,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,962,000 after buying an additional 122,870 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 6.2% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,384,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,724,000 after acquiring an additional 199,016 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Centene

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.