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

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $32.52 and last traded at $32.58, with a volume of 18114297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $33.00 in a report on Thursday. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.75.

Centene Stock Down 3.4%

The firm has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.68, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.44. The business's 50 day moving average price is $53.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 245.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,947 shares of the company's stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth $3,589,000. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth $204,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Centene by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,784 shares of the company's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during 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.