Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. UBS Group currently has $80.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $79.00.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CNC. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.31.

Centene Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $59.41 on Friday. Centene has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.62. The firm has a market cap of $29.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harris Associates L P increased its holdings in Centene by 5.7% in the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,932,000 after buying an additional 1,420,825 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Centene by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,766,683,000 after purchasing an additional 111,654 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 3.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,768,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,255,000 after purchasing an additional 194,566 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Centene by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,117,000 after acquiring an additional 25,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 14.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,042,000 after purchasing an additional 636,683 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.