StockNews.com Downgrades Centene (NYSE:CNC) to Buy

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens lowered their target price on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.31.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC traded down $0.04 on Thursday, reaching $58.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,429,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,342,780. The stock has a market cap of $29.73 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. Centene has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm's 50 day moving average is $61.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.97.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Centene's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Centene will post 6.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,353,780. This trade represents a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 40,893 shares of company stock valued at $2,409,962 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harris Associates L P increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,980,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,825 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,766,683,000 after buying an additional 111,654 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 3.5% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 194,566 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,803,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,412,000 after purchasing an additional 130,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company's stock worth $241,126,000 after acquiring an additional 428,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.