Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target Raised to $39.00 at Truist Financial

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised Centene's target price from $35.00 to $39.00, suggesting a potential upside of 14.20% from the last close.
• Centene's stock has received mixed ratings, with three analysts rating it as a Buy, thirteen as a Hold, and one as a Sell.
• Centene reported a revenue increase of 22.4% year-over-year but missed EPS estimates, indicating challenges despite strong revenue growth.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Truist Financial from $35.00 to $39.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Truist Financial's price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.20% from the company's previous close.

CNC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $72.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays set a $33.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.33.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $34.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.08. The company has a market cap of $16.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.44. Centene has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $77.29.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Centene's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents 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 currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 3.2% in the first quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,617 shares of the company's stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 2.8% in 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 period. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Centene by 6.0% in the first quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 3,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Centene by 6.1% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

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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