Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target Raised to $57.00

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential downside of 8.42% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CNC. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $58.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.35.

Centene Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of CNC opened at $62.24 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.99. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $30.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.09. Centene has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $62.10.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,518,000 after buying an additional 17,143,904 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $332,044,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. lifted its position in Centene by 184.0% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,761,000 after acquiring an additional 5,860,630 shares during the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $186,662,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,171,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,472,341 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.