Bank of America Has Lowered Expectations for Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Price

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Bank of America from $65.00 to $52.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Centene in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 price target (down from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.87.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.28. The stock had a trading volume of 33,741,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,457,554. Centene has a 1-year low of $33.30 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The firm has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.96, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business's fifty day moving average is $55.93 and its 200-day moving average is $59.04.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. Centene's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,536,167,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 42.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $669,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306,796 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter worth approximately $146,557,000. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Centene by 155.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,901,603 shares of the company's stock worth $236,802,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Centene by 1,788.1% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,582 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.