Centene (NYSE:CNC) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $80.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on CNC. Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 target price on Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 price objective on Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.15.

Centene Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:CNC opened at $66.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.08. Centene has a 1-year low of $26.71 and a 1-year high of $69.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The firm had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.800- EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Centene will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the first quarter valued at $236,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Centene by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 4,315 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 44,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after buying an additional 2,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Centene by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 231,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,590,000 after buying an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently 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.