Centene (NYSE:CNC) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $72.77 and last traded at $71.6250, with a volume of 1,303,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on Centene from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Centene from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.80.

Centene Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $36.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $66.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.48. Centene had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 0.72%. The business had revenue of $50.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,660,422,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Centene by 423.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,301,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10,757,914 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,517,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,173,000 after purchasing an additional 608,249 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Centene by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,518,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,818,000 after purchasing an additional 802,756 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Centene in the 2nd quarter worth about $285,713,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

About Centene

Centene Corporation is a diversified healthcare enterprise that provides government-sponsored and commercial health insurance programs and related healthcare services. The company’s offerings are primarily focused on Medicaid, Medicare, and health insurance marketplace plans, with an emphasis on serving individuals and families who may have limited access to traditional healthcare coverage.

Centene operates Medicaid health plans through state-based contracts and offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug, and Medicare Supplement products through its Wellcare brand.