Centene (NYSE:CNC) Receives Neutral Rating from UBS Group

Centene (NYSE:CNC)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by equities researchers at UBS Group in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $45.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $80.00. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 35.24% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.87.

Centene Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $33.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $16.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.96, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.44. Centene has a 1 year low of $33.30 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $56.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.22.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 2.04%. The business’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $264,000. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at $1,288,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 322,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,567,000 after buying an additional 7,446 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in shares of Centene by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 27,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,693,000 after buying an additional 1,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Centene in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,464,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Company Profile

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.