Centene (NYSE:CNC) Earns Outperform Rating from Oppenheimer

Centene (NYSE:CNC)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Oppenheimer in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 61.93% from the stock’s current price.

CNC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Baird R W upgraded Centene to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.93.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $67.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.12. The company has a market cap of $36.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. Centene has a one year low of $60.83 and a one year high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Centene will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,432. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CNC. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 5.5% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Centene by 1.5% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 406,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,034,000 after purchasing an additional 6,164 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth about $5,071,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 134,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,242,000 after buying an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,820,000 after buying an additional 1,686 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.