Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Price

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $91.00 to $93.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 56.51% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on CNC. UBS Group raised Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.31.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $59.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $81.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $60.80 per share, with a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harris Associates L P grew its holdings in Centene by 5.7% during the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,825 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Centene by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,766,683,000 after purchasing an additional 111,654 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,768,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,255,000 after purchasing an additional 194,566 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Centene by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,117,000 after purchasing an additional 25,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Centene by 14.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,042,000 after buying an additional 636,683 shares in the last quarter. 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.