Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.77.

Several research analysts have commented on CNC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Argus cut shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $62.80 on Tuesday. Centene has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $80.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.60 and a 200-day moving average of $60.48. The firm has a market cap of $31.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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