Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Receives $38.33 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

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 a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.3333.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 price target (down from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Centene from $33.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were purchased 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 approximately $883,840. The trade was a 39.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction 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 $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Centene

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CNC. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 203.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Trading Down 1.2%

CNC stock traded down $0.40 on Monday, hitting $31.77. 21,226,090 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,909,675. Centene has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $76.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business's fifty day moving average is $28.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.44.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The company had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. The business'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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share 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.