Centene (NYSE:CNC) Rating Lowered to Underperform at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) from a hold rating to an underperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $52.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $68.00.

CNC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.62.

Centene Trading Up 1.9 %

CNC stock opened at $58.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.80. Centene has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The company has a market capitalization of $29.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,171,000 after purchasing an additional 7,549 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 60,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,528,000 after acquiring an additional 9,287 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter worth $844,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in Centene by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 9,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. 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.