Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target Lowered to $61.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price target trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $64.00 to $61.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the stock.

CNC has been the topic of several other research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Argus lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.77.

Centene Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of CNC stock opened at $59.30 on Tuesday. Centene has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Centene by 8.8% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Centene by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Centene by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. 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.