Centene (NYSE:CNC) Lifted to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday morning.

CNC has been the subject of several other research reports. Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $80.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Baird R W raised shares of Centene to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $83.50.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $77.92 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $68.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.70. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $60.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Centene will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,432. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at $23,313,710.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $1,325,441,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Centene in the first quarter valued at approximately $914,080,000. Harris Associates L P increased its position in shares of Centene by 172.8% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,170,000 after purchasing an additional 6,881,450 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Centene by 0.4% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,033,000 after buying an additional 32,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,117,000 after purchasing an additional 25,595 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Company Profile

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.