Zacks Research Downgrades Centene (NYSE:CNC) to Hold

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Mizuho set a $63.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $58.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.78.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $64.20 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $31.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.09. Centene has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $66.55. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.41.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Centene will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CNC. Oracle Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the third quarter valued at about $3,936,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 451.2% in the third quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 181,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,490,000 after purchasing an additional 148,900 shares during the period. Delta Global Management LP boosted its stake in Centene by 96.5% during the 3rd quarter. Delta Global Management LP now owns 78,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,808,000 after purchasing an additional 38,640 shares during the period. Numerai GP LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 401.4% in the 3rd quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 64,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,301,000 after buying an additional 51,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Centene by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,001,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,628,000 after buying an additional 456,350 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by 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.