JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reiterates Overweight Rating for Centene (NYSE:CNC)

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reaffirmed by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $75.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $80.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective indicates a potential upside of 29.75% from the company's previous close.

CNC has been the topic of several other research reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.92.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.81. The stock had a trading volume of 7,270,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,120,537. The company has a market cap of $29.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. The business's 50 day moving average price is $61.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.51. 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 has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $81.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % 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, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Harris Associates L P increased its stake in shares of Centene by 5.7% in the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company's stock worth $1,980,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,825 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Centene by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company's stock worth $1,766,683,000 after purchasing an additional 111,654 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,768,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,255,000 after buying an additional 194,566 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Centene by 14.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company's stock worth $339,042,000 after acquiring an additional 636,683 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.