Analysts Set Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) PT at $83.92

Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.92.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their price target on Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Centene Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:CNC opened at $61.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.49. Centene has a one year low of $57.20 and a one year high of $81.42. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.31.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 17.1% during the third quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 683,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,478,000 after acquiring an additional 99,904 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Centene by 35.8% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 7,385 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Centene by 189.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 15,819 shares during the period. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Centene by 7.3% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 118,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,307,000 after acquiring an additional 8,103 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in Centene by 15.4% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,435,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,063,000 after buying an additional 191,768 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.