Centene (NYSE:CNC) Given New $48.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price objective hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $39.00 to $48.00 in a report released on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential downside of 8.75% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $41.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.76.

Centene Price Performance

CNC traded up $3.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,817,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,445,257. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.49 and a 200-day moving average of $39.24. Centene has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $64.15. The stock has a market cap of $25.87 billion, a PE ratio of -3.89, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $1.25. The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.58 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 4.25% and a negative net margin of 3.43%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in Centene by 455.6% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Centene

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat and guidance lift — Centene reported adjusted EPS well above estimates ($3.37 vs. consensus ~ $2.12), revenue beat, and raised 2026 EPS guidance after improving medical-cost controls. This is the primary driver of the stock move. PR Newswire
• Positive Sentiment: Cost controls + Medicaid strength — Management cited declining medical costs and stronger Medicaid performance, improving margins and lifting investor confidence in near-term profitability. Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America upgraded CNC to Buy with a $60 price target (from $34), backing the rebound story and providing further buy-side support. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual bullish options flow — Large purchases of call options (≈19,116 contracts) indicate short-term speculative/hedge positioning ahead of/after the print (possible short-covering or directional bets).
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings-call tone mixed — The Q1 call showed strong results but a cautious management tone on outlook details and membership trends; watch commentary for FY cadence. TipRanks
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst landscape — Some upgrades and higher targets (e.g., BofA) but a wide range of price targets and recent sell/hold calls leave consensus still mixed; volatility in estimates likely. QuiverQuant
• Negative Sentiment: ACA (Obamacare) enrollment drop — Reports show a ~2 million decline in individual-market enrollment after subsidy changes, a structural headwind for Centene’s individual business going forward. Forbes
• Negative Sentiment: Commercial enrollment slide persists — While Medicaid helped, commercial membership softness remains a risk to revenue growth and could temper margin gains. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and large institutional rebalancing — Recent insider stock sales and big fund position turnover could keep selling pressure at times. QuiverQuant

Centene Company Profile

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.