FY2024 Earnings Estimate for Centene Co. Issued By Cantor Fitzgerald (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald increased their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Centene in a research note issued on Monday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst S. James now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $6.84 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $6.72. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Centene’s current full-year earnings is $6.75 per share.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on CNC. Barclays began coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.00.

Centene Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of CNC stock opened at $73.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.17. Centene has a 1 year low of $60.83 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. QV Investors Inc. increased its stake in Centene by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 305,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,655,000 after buying an additional 33,350 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,239,000 after acquiring an additional 231,931 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $2,349,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Centene by 57.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 187,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,941,000 after purchasing an additional 68,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Centene by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 286,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,239,000 after purchasing an additional 43,118 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.