Centene (NYSE:CNC) Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on CNC. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Baird R W upgraded shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.93.

Centene Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $66.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $35.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. Centene has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.11 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Centene will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 1.0% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank grew its stake in shares of Centene by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 5.0% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.