Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Truist Financial Analyst Says

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $47.00 to $49.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Truist Financial’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.90% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $38.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Centene from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group set a $42.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Centene from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE CNC traded up $1.03 on Wednesday, hitting $43.40. The stock had a trading volume of 495,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,453,449. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.27. The stock has a market cap of $21.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. Centene has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $66.03.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 52,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 44.5% in the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Centene by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Centene by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Centene

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.