Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank Of Canada Analyst Says

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.45% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on CNC. Mizuho set a $63.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.50.

Centene Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of CNC stock opened at $67.33 on Thursday. Centene has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $69.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.54 and its 200-day moving average is $47.91. The stock has a market cap of $33.25 billion, a PE ratio of -5.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.07.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Centene will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Bayban acquired a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Centene

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.