Oppenheimer Has Lowered Expectations for Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Price

Key Points

• Oppenheimer has reduced its target price for Centene (NYSE:CNC) from $51 to $43, indicating a potential upside of 55.83% from the current stock price.
• Other analysts have also decreased their price targets for Centene, with Wells Fargo cutting their estimate significantly from $72 to $30.
• Centene reported a net loss per share of ($0.16) for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations, although revenue was up 22.4% year-over-year.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Oppenheimer from $51.00 to $43.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer's target price would suggest a potential upside of 55.83% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Centene from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.75.

Centene Trading Down 2.8%

NYSE:CNC traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $27.60. The company had a trading volume of 7,250,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,673,319. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.76 and a 200 day moving average of $55.77. The company has a market cap of $13.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.44. Centene has a 1 year low of $26.25 and a 1 year high of $80.59.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Centene by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 45,103 shares of the company's stock worth $2,732,000 after purchasing an additional 16,108 shares during the period. Diametric Capital LP bought a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $610,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Centene by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 216,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,142,000 after buying an additional 100,039 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 708,717 shares of the company's stock worth $43,026,000 after purchasing an additional 163,462 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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