Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target Lowered to $84.00 at Barclays

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $93.00 to $84.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CNC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Argus cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Centene from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $64.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.00.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $59.51 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $29.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. 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 has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $80.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.72.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. Centene’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Centene by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 58,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,581,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 47.1% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 573,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,825,000 after buying an additional 183,629 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 8.8% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 60,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,680,000 after buying an additional 4,918 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Centene by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Centene by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 14,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $887,000 after acquiring an additional 4,393 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Centene

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.