Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC – Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 12,127 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 72% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,054 put options.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages recently commented on CNC. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.05.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Centene
Centene Stock Performance
CNC stock traded down $2.13 on Monday, reaching $68.03. 1,848,124 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,574,341. Centene has a 12 month low of $31.63 and a 12 month high of $72.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.61 billion, a PE ratio of -6.51, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $65.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.
Centene (NYSE:CNC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 47.8% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,464,000 after acquiring an additional 12,825 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. BG Investment Services LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the third quarter valued at $345,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Centene by 71.5% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 41,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,598,000 after acquiring an additional 17,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 17.7% in the third quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 6,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Centene Company Profile
Centene Corporation is a diversified healthcare enterprise that provides government-sponsored and commercial health insurance programs and related healthcare services. The company’s offerings are primarily focused on Medicaid, Medicare, and health insurance marketplace plans, with an emphasis on serving individuals and families who may have limited access to traditional healthcare coverage.
Centene operates Medicaid health plans through state-based contracts and offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug, and Medicare Supplement products through its Wellcare brand.
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