Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target Raised to $71.00

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Centene to $71 from $70 and kept a sector perform rating, implying modest upside from the previous close.
• Centene’s stock traded near $66.89, close to its 52-week high of $69.29, while the broader analyst view remains Hold with an average target price of $62.50.
• The company recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $3.37 EPS versus estimates of $2.23 and revenue of $49.94 billion, up 7.1% year over year.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price indicates a potential upside of 6.14% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $47.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $58.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.50.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC traded down $0.20 during trading on Thursday, hitting $66.89. The company had a trading volume of 935,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,217,540. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $69.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.07.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The business had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Centene will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oracle Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,936,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC lifted its position in Centene by 451.2% in the third quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 181,900 shares of the company's stock worth $6,490,000 after purchasing an additional 148,900 shares during the period. Delta Global Management LP boosted its stake in Centene by 96.5% during the 3rd quarter. Delta Global Management LP now owns 78,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,808,000 after purchasing an additional 38,640 shares in the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 401.4% during the 3rd quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 64,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,301,000 after purchasing an additional 51,625 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,001,316 shares of the company's stock worth $35,628,000 after buying an additional 456,350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation NYSE: CNC is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene's offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.

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