UBS Group Reiterates Neutral Rating for Centene (NYSE:CNC)

UBS Group reissued their neutral rating on shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $45.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $80.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.87.

Centene Stock Down 1.5%

CNC stock opened at $33.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Centene has a 1 year low of $33.30 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.05. The firm has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 4.96, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.44.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Centene during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 93.63% of the stock is 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.