FY2024 EPS Estimates for Centene Co. Increased by Cantor Fitzgerald (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald increased their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Centene in a report released on Monday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst S. James now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $6.84 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $6.72. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Centene’s current full-year earnings is $6.75 per share.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Monday. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.25.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock opened at $73.83 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $76.22 and its 200 day moving average is $74.85. The company has a market capitalization of $39.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.38. Centene has a twelve month low of $60.83 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.11 earnings per share. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Activity

In other Centene news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. QV Investors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 305,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,655,000 after purchasing an additional 33,350 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Centene by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,239,000 after buying an additional 231,931 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,349,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 187,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,941,000 after acquiring an additional 68,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 286,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,239,000 after acquiring an additional 43,118 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Centene

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.