Centene (NYSE:CNC) Hits New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $60.42 and last traded at $60.59, with a volume of 989060 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $61.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CNC. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer lowered 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.58.

Centene Stock Down 2.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.50 and a 200 day moving average of $72.45.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the first quarter valued at approximately $914,080,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in Centene by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $678,033,000 after buying an additional 32,427 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Centene by 0.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 25,595 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Centene by 60.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company's stock worth $409,390,000 after buying an additional 1,959,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Centene by 14.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,042,000 after buying an additional 636,683 shares in the last quarter. 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.