Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target to $37.00

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price objective cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $43.00 to $37.00 in a report released on Friday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $43.00 price objective on Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Centene from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.81.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $40.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Centene has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $66.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $42.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.44.

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

Institutional Trading of Centene

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the first quarter valued at $236,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 80.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 4,315 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Centene by 198.6% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 90.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 465,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,278,000 after acquiring an additional 25,029 shares in the last quarter. 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.