Centene (NYSE:CNC) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Centene from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Centene from $41.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Centene from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Centene from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.82.

Centene Trading Down 0.8%

CNC stock opened at $54.86 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $64.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.06.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The company had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Centene will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Centene by 25.8% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Centene by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 365,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,965,000 after acquiring an additional 96,238 shares during the last quarter. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,607,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Centene by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,442,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,228,000 after acquiring an additional 96,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in Centene during the 1st quarter worth approximately $727,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.