UBS Group Cuts Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target to $31.00

Key Points

• UBS Group has cut its price target for Centene from $45.00 to $31.00, while maintaining a "neutral" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 15.37% from its current price.
• Multiple analysts have downgraded Centene, with Cantor Fitzgerald, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley all lowering their ratings and price targets, indicating a market consensus shift towards caution.
• Centene's stock is currently trading at $26.87, down 5.4%, and its recent earnings report missed consensus estimates, highlighting potential challenges for the company ahead.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at UBS Group from $45.00 to $31.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. UBS Group's target price points to a potential upside of 15.37% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Centene from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $33.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.44.

Centene Stock Down 5.4%

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded down $1.52 on Monday, reaching $26.87. The company had a trading volume of 21,398,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,778,801. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.44. Centene has a twelve month low of $26.25 and a twelve month high of $80.59.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 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.

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