Centene (NYSE:CNC) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on CNC. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Centene from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.78.

Centene Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $64.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Centene has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $66.55. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.41. The firm has a market cap of $31.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.89, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.09.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.90 earnings per share. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Centene will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Centene by 107.3% in the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 1.0% in the first quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 1,010,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,082,000 after acquiring an additional 9,540 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 41.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 43,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 12,686 shares during the last quarter. Summitry LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 1.1% during the first quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 23,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the first quarter worth $556,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.