Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target Cut to $72.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $72.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.58% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CNC. Stephens decreased their target price on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

Centene Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of CNC traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.88. 1,246,611 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,389,930. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.66. Centene has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.72 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Centene will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 5,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,780. This trade represents a 27.78 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 2.1% in the third quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Centene by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Centene by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

About Centene

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.