Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target Cut to $84.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Barclays from $93.00 to $84.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price objective points to a potential upside of 41.88% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CNC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Centene from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus lowered Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.00.

Centene Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE CNC traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $59.20. 382,840 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,614,316. Centene has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.81. The firm has a market cap of $29.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.70. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 221,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,398,000 after purchasing an additional 10,515 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in Centene by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 36,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,189,000 after purchasing an additional 14,671 shares in the last quarter. Polianta Ltd boosted its position in shares of Centene by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 22,100 shares of the company's stock worth $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Centene by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company's stock worth $97,082,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

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.

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