Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Price Down 2.7% - Should You Sell?

Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) dropped 2.7% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $62.08 and last traded at $62.13. Approximately 555,103 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 4,685,616 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CNC. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Argus cut shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.69.

Centene Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.38. The company has a market cap of $30.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clarius Group LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the 1st quarter worth about $413,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Centene by 2.5% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the 1st quarter valued at $1,254,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 48.1% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 49,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 16,068 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the first quarter worth approximately $324,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.