Robert W. Baird Lowers Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target to $69.00

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $71.00 to $69.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price points to a potential upside of 9.63% from the stock’s current price.

CNC has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Argus cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Centene from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $53.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.69.

Centene Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $62.94 on Tuesday. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.57. The company has a market cap of $31.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.09, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 55.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the 1st quarter worth approximately $538,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 273.8% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 195.9% in the first quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 57,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,503,000 after acquiring an additional 38,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.