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

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

CNC has been the subject of several other research reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays assumed coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.25.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $73.83. 5,021,169 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,122,451. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.85. Centene has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Centene will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. bought a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 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.