Centene’s (CNC) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $41.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CNC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.81.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $38.04 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a PE ratio of -2.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.48. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $66.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.10.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WPG Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Centene by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Burney Co. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 11.6% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 9,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.