Centene (NYSE:CNC) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

CNC has been the topic of several other reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Monday. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.00.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $73.06 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $39.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.38. Centene has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Centene will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Centene news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the first quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 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.