UBS Group Cuts Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target to $31.00

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price target lowered by UBS Group from $45.00 to $31.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on CNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $48.00 price target (down from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Centene from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $72.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.31.

Centene Trading Up 1.1%

CNC opened at $25.80 on Monday. Centene has a twelve month low of $25.50 and a twelve month high of $80.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $44.64 and a 200-day moving average of $55.11. The stock has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a PE ratio of 6.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.44.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Centene by 8.8% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Centene by 3.2% in the first quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Centene by 2.8% in the first quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in Centene by 6.0% in the first quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 3,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Centene by 6.1% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is 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.