Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Receives $83.92 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.92.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its stake in Centene by 1,190.0% in the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 41.4% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc acquired a new stake in Centene during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Riverview Trust Co raised its holdings in Centene by 154.6% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Price Performance

CNC stock traded down $1.03 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.80. 6,333,805 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,017,048. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $29.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. Centene has a one year low of $57.20 and a one year high of $81.42.

About Centene

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.