Robert W. Baird Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Price

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Robert W. Baird from $71.00 to $69.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on CNC. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised Centene from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the company from $53.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.69.

Centene Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE CNC traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.70. 5,758,979 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,702,012. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. Centene has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. Centene's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors 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.