Centene (NYSE:CNC) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $57.20 and last traded at $57.75, with a volume of 351118 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $57.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CNC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Centene Trading Down 1.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $29.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Centene by 1,190.0% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 41.4% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter worth $33,000. Riverview Trust Co raised its position in shares of Centene by 154.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

About Centene

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.