Centene (NYSE:CNC) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Centene from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $38.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.81.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $40.53 on Friday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $66.03. The company has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a PE ratio of -2.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.13 and its 200 day moving average is $36.37.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $48.41 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a positive return on equity of 4.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Centene by 1.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,396,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,169,768,000 after acquiring an additional 869,706 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,435,997,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Centene by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,186,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,586,000 after purchasing an additional 514,600 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 76.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,654,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,885,000 after buying an additional 6,356,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,338,000 after acquiring an additional 697,277 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently 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.