Centene (NYSE:CNC) Given New $74.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Bank of America from $72.00 to $74.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 18.08% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Centene from $41.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $47.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho set a $58.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.47.

Centene Trading Up 5.2%

Shares of CNC stock traded up $3.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $62.67. The company had a trading volume of 2,586,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,361,598. Centene has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $63.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $30.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.01 and a 200 day moving average of $42.99.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,344,676,000 after buying an additional 190,334 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Centene by 117.0% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,308,518,000 after buying an additional 17,143,904 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,338,000 after acquiring an additional 697,277 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. boosted its position in Centene by 184.0% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after acquiring an additional 5,860,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Centene by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,002,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,456,000 after acquiring an additional 603,585 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

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.