Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on CNC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.58.

Centene Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CNC stock opened at $69.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $74.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.87. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $63.45 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Centene will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Centene

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Park Place Capital Corp increased its stake in Centene by 1,190.0% in the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in Centene by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in Centene by 154.6% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 320 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.