Centene (NYSE:CNC) Given New $45.00 Price Target at Barclays

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $65.00 to $45.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Centene from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.87.

Centene Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:CNC traded down $0.51 on Wednesday, hitting $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's fifty day simple moving average is $55.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Centene by 8.8% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,092 shares of the company's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.2% during the first quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,617 shares of the company's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Centene by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Centene by 2.8% during the first quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,221 shares of the company's stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC grew its stake in Centene by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the company's stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 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.