Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $61.62, but opened at $70.00. Centene shares last traded at $68.31, with a volume of 3,192,073 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com raised Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.17.

Centene Trading Up 4.2 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $34.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $73.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.37.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in shares of Centene by 1,190.0% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Centene by 154.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Centene during the second quarter worth $36,000. 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.