Royal Bank Of Canada Initiates Coverage on Centene (NYSE:CNC)

Analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “sector perform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.94% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on CNC. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Centene from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.78.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $63.67 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $31.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.09. Centene has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $66.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.52 and a 200-day moving average of $45.32.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The business had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Centene will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oracle Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the third quarter worth $3,936,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 451.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 181,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,490,000 after acquiring an additional 148,900 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 161.1% in the third quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 91,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,281,000 after buying an additional 56,730 shares in the last quarter. Kennondale Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 500.0% during the third quarter. Kennondale Capital Management LLC now owns 48,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,748,000 after purchasing an additional 40,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Centene by 5.5% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 995,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,533,000 after acquiring an additional 52,279 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.