Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Receives $40.53 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fifteen have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.5294.

A number of research firms have commented on CNC. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Centene from $24.00 to $32.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th.

Centene Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of CNC opened at $37.08 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.02. Centene has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $66.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.49.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. The business had revenue of $49.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.50 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Centene in the third quarter valued at $27,000. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 44.5% in the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 11,011.1% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 54.9% during the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 390 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.