Centene (NYSE:CNC) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $65.00 to $52.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Centene traded as low as $33.76 and last traded at $33.80, with a volume of 93126289 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.65.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.87.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Trading Down 1.5%

The stock has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 4.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s fifty day moving average is $56.42 and its 200 day moving average is $59.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 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 the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.