Centene (NYSE:CNC) Raised to Hold at Argus

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was upgraded by Argus to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Centene from $25.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.25.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $39.61 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.15. Centene has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $66.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.47 billion, a PE ratio of -2.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.03. Centene had a positive return on equity of 4.25% and a negative net margin of 3.43%.The company had revenue of $49.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 18,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502 shares during the period. TT Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. TT Capital Management LLC now owns 15,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Centene by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 4,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in Centene by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 9,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Centene by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 121,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,007,000 after buying an additional 14,828 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Company Profile

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.