Centene (NYSE:CNC) Sets New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $53.78 and last traded at $54.07, with a volume of 419834 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Centene in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.71.

Centene Stock Up 0.1%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.98, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.45.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 2.04%. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth $1,536,167,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Centene by 5.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,091,964 shares of the company's stock worth $673,393,000 after buying an additional 536,508 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company's stock worth $669,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306,796 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Centene by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,469,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,854,000 after buying an additional 1,578,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Centene by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,294,816 shares of the company's stock worth $320,760,000 after purchasing an additional 443,121 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is 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.