Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $61.62, but opened at $70.00. Centene shares last traded at $68.31, with a volume of 3,192,073 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.17.

Centene Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $73.50 and its 200 day moving average is $72.45. The firm has a market cap of $35.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The company had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. Centene’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Park Place Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of Centene by 1,190.0% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in Centene by 154.6% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Centene during the second quarter worth about $36,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Centene

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.