Centene (NYSE:CNC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.36 EPS

Centene (NYSE:CNC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.36, RTT News reports. Centene had a return on equity of 13.32% and a net margin of 1.90%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $65.00 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $32.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.17 and a 200-day moving average of $67.14. Centene has a one year low of $55.03 and a one year high of $81.42.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 45,010 shares of company stock valued at $2,660,276 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.92.

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.