Centene (NYSE:CNC) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $27.50 and last traded at $27.62, with a volume of 2861035 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $33.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.13.

Centene Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $13.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.98.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 2.04%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Centene during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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