Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $58.48, but opened at $56.65. Centene shares last traded at $57.30, with a volume of 741,972 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Centene Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $61.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.98. The stock has a market cap of $28.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.45.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,153,712.75. This represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,780. This represents a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Company Profile

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.