Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Centene Corporation has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from 17 brokerages, with one sell rating, thirteen hold ratings, and three buy ratings, and a 1-year target price of $38.33.
• Recent earnings results revealed a missed consensus estimate with earnings per share at ($0.16) compared to the expected $0.23, despite revenue increasing by 22.4% year-over-year to $48.74 billion.
• Insider activity includes CEO Sarah London acquiring 19,230 shares at $25.50 each, reflecting a 2.33% increase in her ownership, while director Theodore R. Samuels II also increased his stake by 39.13% with a purchase of 9,000 shares.

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.3333.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CNC shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Bank of America cut shares of Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,840. The trade was a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Centene during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 203.1% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of CNC opened at $33.20 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $28.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $77.29.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

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.

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