Centene (NYSE:CNC) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Centene Corporation's stock reached a new 52-week low of $25.08, with analysts revising their target prices significantly downward.
• The company reported a loss of $0.16 per share in its latest quarterly earnings, missing the expected earnings per share of $0.23.
• Despite recent struggles, insider buying has occurred, with Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchasing 9,000 shares, indicating potential confidence in the company's future.

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $25.08 and last traded at $25.24, with a volume of 3699151 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $38.00 in a report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $33.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Bank of America lowered Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.20.

Centene Stock Up 0.1%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.83. The stock has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a PE ratio of 6.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Centene by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 385,370 shares of the company's stock worth $23,345,000 after purchasing an additional 32,304 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 118,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,474,000 after buying an additional 32,139 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Centene by 208.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 223,902 shares of the company's stock worth $13,564,000 after acquiring an additional 151,318 shares during the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in Centene by 198.1% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 401,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,505,000 after acquiring an additional 266,998 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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