Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.05.

Several analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $60.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.32. Centene has a 12 month low of $31.63 and a 12 month high of $69.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.11 billion, a PE ratio of -5.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.13.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.16) EPS. Analysts forecast that Centene will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Centene in the second quarter valued at about $2,660,422,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Centene by 423.0% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,301,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10,757,914 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $332,044,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at $285,713,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at $257,279,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) is a healthcare enterprise that provides health insurance and related services, primarily through government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicaid plans, Medicare products, health plans sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and services for military families through government-sponsored healthcare programs.

The company also provides pharmacy, behavioral health, specialty healthcare, care management and administrative services through various subsidiaries and partner organizations.