Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Receives $84.36 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.36.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CNC shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $78.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $70.08 and its 200 day moving average is $73.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Centene has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Centene will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,325,441,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Centene in the 1st quarter worth about $914,080,000. Harris Associates L P increased its stake in Centene by 172.8% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,170,000 after buying an additional 6,881,450 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,033,000 after buying an additional 32,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,117,000 after acquiring an additional 25,595 shares in the last quarter. 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.