Centene (NYSE:CNC) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $57.20 and last traded at $57.75, with a volume of 351118 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.92.

Centene Trading Down 1.8 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.56 and a 200-day moving average of $70.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $29.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position in Centene by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 5,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at about $350,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 275.6% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 13,784 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 189.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 15,819 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at about $400,000. 93.63% of the stock is 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.