Centene (NYSE:CNC) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on CNC. Weiss Ratings upgraded Centene from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Centene from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.60.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $68.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.09 and a 200 day moving average of $55.26. Centene has a 12 month low of $31.63 and a 12 month high of $72.50.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $50.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.12 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 0.72%. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Centene will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNC. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 0.5% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 69,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,877,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Centene by 119.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in Centene in the third quarter valued at $193,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 88,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,515,000 after acquiring an additional 10,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 14,116.7% in the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Centene

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to raise price targets. Wells Fargo lifted its target from $69 to $75 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating. JPMorgan also raised its target from $67 to $75, and UBS increased its target from $70 to $78. These revisions suggest analysts see additional value after Centene’s earnings update, even though the ratings remain cautious. Wells Fargo analyst update JPMorgan analyst update UBS analyst update
• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results and higher guidance support the stock. Centene exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, and its quarterly revenue increased year over year. The company’s guidance increase reinforces expectations for improved profitability and prompted additional analyst optimism. Centene Q3 earnings and guidance Centene guidance increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst ratings remain restrained. Wells Fargo and UBS retain “equal weight” or “neutral” recommendations, indicating that the higher targets reflect moderate appreciation potential rather than a strong conviction that CNC is significantly undervalued. Centene analyst price target update
• Negative Sentiment: Membership pressure remains a key risk. Coverage has highlighted lingering membership challenges and uncertainty over whether Centene can maintain a stable health benefits ratio. These issues could offset the benefit of stronger earnings and guidance if they pressure margins or future revenue growth. Centene membership pressures Centene health benefits ratio analysis

About Centene

Centene Corporation is a diversified healthcare enterprise that provides government-sponsored and commercial health insurance programs and related healthcare services. The company’s offerings are primarily focused on Medicaid, Medicare, and health insurance marketplace plans, with an emphasis on serving individuals and families who may have limited access to traditional healthcare coverage.

Centene operates Medicaid health plans through state-based contracts and offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug, and Medicare Supplement products through its Wellcare brand.