Centene (NYSE:CNC) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $71.00 to $78.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Centene traded as high as $69.36 and last traded at $68.9520, with a volume of 341951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.29.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on CNC. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, April 20th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Centene from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.61.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Centene by 118.4% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Bayban bought a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.17. The company has a market capitalization of $34.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 earnings per share 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.