Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.20.

CNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. 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 report on Monday, July 28th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Centene from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd.

Centene Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:CNC opened at $29.3560 on Thursday. Centene has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The stock has a market cap of $14.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.27, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.90 and a 200-day moving average of $51.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position 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 grew its position in shares of Centene by 3.2% in the first quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 2.8% in the first 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 last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of Centene by 6.0% in the first quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 3,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Centene by 6.1% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.