Argus Downgrades Centene (NYSE:CNC) to Hold

Argus downgraded shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports.

CNC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.31.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $58.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,015,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,327,047. The business's fifty day moving average price is $61.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.97. Centene has a one year low of $55.03 and a one year high of $81.42. The firm has a market cap of $29.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Centene will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director H James Dallas acquired 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following 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. Insiders bought a total of 40,893 shares of company stock worth $2,409,962 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 2.1% in the third quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Centene by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. 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.