Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.00.

CNC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 18.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 624,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,046,000 after purchasing an additional 98,298 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Centene by 435.0% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 20,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 16,304 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Centene by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 7,385 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 189.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 15,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Centene by 7.3% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 118,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,307,000 after purchasing an additional 8,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:CNC opened at $62.26 on Friday. Centene has a 52 week low of $59.77 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $71.55 and its 200-day moving average is $72.02. The firm has a market cap of $32.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48.

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.