Centene (NYSE:CNC) Upgraded to "Buy" at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $80.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $79.00.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CNC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.31.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC traded up $1.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.98. 4,589,201 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,088,760. The company has a market cap of $30.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $62.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.73. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.14 per share, with a total value 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 $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in Centene by 1,190.0% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 41.4% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the second quarter worth $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Centene by 174.3% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Centene by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 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.