Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CNC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.61.

Centene Stock Down 0.2%

CNC stock opened at $66.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.73 billion, a PE ratio of -5.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.07. Centene has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $69.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.90.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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 purchased a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Centene by 564.6% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 118.4% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayban acquired a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.