Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Baird R W raised Centene to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Barclays upped their target price on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $84.93.

Centene Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:CNC opened at $68.04 on Friday. Centene has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.11 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Centene will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Centene by 1.5% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 406,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,034,000 after purchasing an additional 6,164 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the third quarter valued at about $5,071,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 134,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,820,000 after buying an additional 1,686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

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.