Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Receives $81.31 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $80.92.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. Barclays upped their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Centene Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $59.58 on Friday. Centene has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.21. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 acquired at an average price of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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