Centene (NYSE:CNC) Downgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, June 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Centene to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $84.93.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $66.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $35.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $72.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.73. Centene has a 52 week low of $60.83 and a 52 week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Davis Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 13.2% during the second quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 16,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 1,903 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth approximately $823,000. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 23.2% during the first quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 128.3% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 580,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,241,000 after buying an additional 326,468 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.