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

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.31.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

Insider Activity at Centene

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 47.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 1,527 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 17.9% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 8,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Centene by 459.2% in the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group increased its stake in Centene by 192.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 13,610 shares of the company's stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 8,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Centene by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company's stock worth $364,117,000 after buying an additional 25,595 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE CNC traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $59.42. 7,063,954 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,099,720. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. Centene has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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.