Centene (NYSE:CNC) Issues Earnings Results

Centene (NYSE:CNC) posted its earnings results on Friday. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.62, RTT News reports. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC traded up $5.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $73.10. The company had a trading volume of 9,637,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,466,414. Centene has a 52 week low of $60.83 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Centene from $93.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at $23,313,710.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.