Cantor Fitzgerald Reiterates Overweight Rating for Centene (NYSE:CNC)

Centene (NYSE:CNC)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 63.01% from the stock’s current price.

CNC has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.62.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock traded down $1.50 on Wednesday, hitting $55.21. 1,337,006 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,056,327. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.01. Centene has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harris Associates L P raised its holdings in Centene by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,825 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,799,000 after acquiring an additional 832,318 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Centene by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,042,000 after acquiring an additional 636,683 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,126,000 after acquiring an additional 428,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in Centene by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,400,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,838,000 after acquiring an additional 416,003 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.