Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $70.05 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Centene has a consensus “Hold” rating among 21 analysts, with nine buy, ten hold, and two sell ratings. The average 12-month price target is $70.05.
• Centene reported quarterly EPS of $2.51, well above the $1.09 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 9.9% year over year to $53.58 billion.
• The stock opened at $68.59 and remains near its 52-week high of $71.21; institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of outstanding shares.

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.05.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CNC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Argus raised Centene from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock opened at $68.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.12. Centene has a 52 week low of $31.63 and a 52 week high of $71.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.57, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%. The firm's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.16) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Centene will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new position in Centene during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH purchased a new stake in Centene during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth $30,000. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Centene

Centene Corporation is a diversified healthcare enterprise that provides government-sponsored and commercial health insurance programs and related healthcare services. The company's offerings are primarily focused on Medicaid, Medicare, and health insurance marketplace plans, with an emphasis on serving individuals and families who may have limited access to traditional healthcare coverage.

Centene operates Medicaid health plans through state-based contracts and offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug, and Medicare Supplement products through its Wellcare brand.

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