Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.8125.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho set a $41.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Centene from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Centene by 66.0% during the 3rd quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 85,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,041,000 after purchasing an additional 33,875 shares in the last quarter. Packer & Co Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter worth $50,487,000. Oracle Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at $3,936,000. ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new position in Centene during the third quarter valued at about $21,485,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Centene by 122.5% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 223,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,962,000 after acquiring an additional 122,870 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $35.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.58, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.59. Centene has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $66.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $49.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.41 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 4.25% and a negative net margin of 3.43%.The firm’s revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.