Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Keeps "Buy" Rating at Truist Financial

Key Points

• Truist Financial reaffirmed its “buy” rating on Centene and raised its price target from $80 to $82, implying approximately 26.18% upside from the prior close.
• Centene shares fell 5.1% to $64.99 during Monday trading. Despite Truist’s bullish view, analysts’ overall consensus remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $73.80.
• Centene reported quarterly earnings of $0.58 per share, beating estimates of $0.10, while revenue reached $50.65 billion versus the $47.12 billion consensus estimate.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by research analysts at Truist Financial in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $82.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $80.00. Truist Financial's target price points to a potential upside of 26.18% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Centene from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 target price on Centene in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Centene from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.80.

Centene Stock Down 5.1%

NYSE:CNC traded down $3.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $64.99. The company had a trading volume of 658,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,600,771. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.07. Centene has a 1 year low of $31.63 and a 1 year high of $72.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.48. Centene had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 0.72%. The business had revenue of $50.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Centene will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Silicon Valley Capital Partners bought a new stake in Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at $30,000. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in Centene during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 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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