Centene (NYSE:CNC) Trading Down 3.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 3.9% on Thursday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $84.00 to $42.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Centene traded as low as $29.19 and last traded at $29.22. 10,781,403 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 83% from the average session volume of 5,892,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.41.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $48.00 target price (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.63.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Centene by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,460 shares of the company's stock valued at $997,000 after acquiring an additional 4,077 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Centene by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 72,600 shares of the company's stock worth $4,398,000 after buying an additional 2,689 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in shares of Centene by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 80,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,884,000 after buying an additional 8,787 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Down 3.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $51.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.47. The company has a market cap of $14.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.44.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 2.04%. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

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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