Centene (NYSE:CNC) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Centene shares hit a new 52-week high after Truist Financial raised its price target from $71 to $78 and reiterated a buy rating. The stock briefly reached $69.36 on Tuesday.
• Other analysts have also adjusted their views, with several firms lifting targets or reaffirming ratings, though the overall consensus remains Hold with a $63.61 average target price.
• Centene’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $3.37 EPS versus the $2.23 estimate and revenue of $49.94 billion, while revenue rose 7.1% year over year.

Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $71.00 to $78.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Centene traded as high as $69.36 and last traded at $68.9520, with a volume of 341951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.29.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 target price on Centene and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.61.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at $236,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Centene by 80.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the company's stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 4,315 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 44,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,440,000 after acquiring an additional 2,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Centene by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 231,938 shares of the company's stock worth $12,590,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business's fifty day moving average is $61.83 and its 200 day moving average is $48.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.07.

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

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.