Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target Raised to $45.00

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $38.00 to $45.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential downside of 0.13% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on CNC. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $44.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays set a $44.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.44.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.06. The stock had a trading volume of 928,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,221,786. The company has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a PE ratio of -3.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48. Centene has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $66.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.03. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a positive return on equity of 4.25%. The firm had revenue of $49.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Centene

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Centene by 66.0% during the 3rd quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 85,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,041,000 after purchasing an additional 33,875 shares during the period. Packer & Co Ltd acquired a new stake in Centene during the third quarter valued at $50,487,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Centene by 122.5% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 223,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,962,000 after buying an additional 122,870 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth about $21,485,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Centene by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,384,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,724,000 after purchasing an additional 199,016 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.