Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.4375.

Several research firms recently commented on CNC. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays set a $44.00 price target on Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Centene from $41.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 455.6% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the third quarter worth about $27,000. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its position in Centene by 44.5% in the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 11,011.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $40.52 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a PE ratio of -3.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.47. Centene has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $66.81. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.71. The company had revenue of $49.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.50 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 7.82% and a negative net margin of 2.85%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.