Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $80.92.

Several research firms have weighed in on CNC. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $61.72 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.09 and a 200-day moving average of $67.45. Centene has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.3% during the second quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 64,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,291,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 7.3% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.