Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target Cut to $83.00

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $90.00 to $83.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 22.31% from the company’s current price.

CNC has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, June 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.00.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $67.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.50. Centene has a 52 week low of $60.83 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.33.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.11 EPS. The company’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 year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CNC. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors 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.