Robert W. Baird Increases Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target to $71.00

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.53% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.31.

Centene Stock Down 4.4 %

NYSE CNC traded down $2.83 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.00. 2,383,402 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,988,941. 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 cap of $31.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.14. Centene has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.36. Centene had a net margin of 1.90% and a return on equity of 13.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at $99,903.93. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Park Place Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 1,190.0% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Centene by 75.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the third quarter valued at about $66,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Centene by 77.3% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

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.