Centene (NYSE:CNC) Downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Hold

Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $69.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $83.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CNC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $81.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a neutral rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $83.93.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $73.10 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.76. Centene has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a market cap of $39.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the sale, 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 company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the first quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Centene by 154.6% during the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.