Centene (NYSE:CNC) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Centene from $65.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.75.

Centene Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of CNC stock opened at $31.42 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.10. The firm has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a PE ratio of 4.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.44. Centene has a 1-year low of $31.40 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 2.04%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 5.1% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Centene by 3.0% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 556,335 shares of the company's stock worth $30,198,000 after buying an additional 16,098 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 70.8% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 113,836 shares of the company's stock worth $6,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Centene by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

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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