Centene (NYSE:CNC) PT Set at $51.00 by Oppenheimer

Centene (NYSE:CNC) received a $51.00 price objective from analysts at Oppenheimer in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer’s target price suggests a potential upside of 67.80% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 price target (down from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.63.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $30.39 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.12 billion, a PE ratio of 4.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.44. Centene has a 52 week low of $29.50 and a 52 week high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 2.04%. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 8.8% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 3.2% during the first quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its stake in Centene by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 3,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.