Centene (NYSE:CNC) Rating Lowered to “Underperform” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) from a hold rating to an underperform rating in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $52.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $68.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.62.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $56.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $28.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $63.22 and its 200 day moving average is $69.01. Centene has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $81.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,171,000 after buying an additional 7,549 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 60,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,528,000 after acquiring an additional 9,287 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $844,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 9,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.