Centene (NYSE:CNC) Sets New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Centene shares reached a new 52-week high of $72.77, after closing the previous session at $67.48.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.58, beating the $0.10 consensus estimate, and revenue of $50.65 billion versus expectations of $47.12 billion.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $73.80; nine analysts rate the stock Buy, 11 Hold, and one Sell.

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $72.77 and last traded at $71.6250, with a volume of 1,303,047 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $67.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on Centene and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.80.

Centene Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $35.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.16 and a 200-day moving average of $55.47.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $50.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.12 billion. Centene had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other 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 value of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,660,422,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Centene by 423.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,301,215 shares of the company's stock worth $853,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10,757,914 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,517,580 shares of the company's stock worth $354,173,000 after purchasing an additional 608,249 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Centene by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,518,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $302,818,000 after buying an additional 802,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Centene during the second quarter valued at $285,713,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.