Centene (NYSE:CNC) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $71.71 and last traded at $70.1980, with a volume of 167,186 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $70.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CNC. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Centene from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.05.

Centene Stock Up 1.4%

The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.88. The company has a market cap of $35.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.13.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter worth $2,660,422,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 423.0% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,301,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,805,000 after buying an additional 10,757,914 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 12.4% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,517,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,173,000 after buying an additional 608,249 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Centene by 21.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,518,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,818,000 after buying an additional 802,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Centene during the second quarter worth about $285,713,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation is a diversified healthcare enterprise that provides government-sponsored and commercial health insurance programs and related healthcare services. The company’s offerings are primarily focused on Medicaid, Medicare, and health insurance marketplace plans, with an emphasis on serving individuals and families who may have limited access to traditional healthcare coverage.

Centene operates Medicaid health plans through state-based contracts and offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug, and Medicare Supplement products through its Wellcare brand.