Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target Lowered to $37.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $43.00 to $37.00 in a report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential downside of 8.70% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on CNC. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Centene from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $43.00 target price on Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group set a $42.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.81.

Centene Price Performance

CNC stock opened at $40.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $42.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.29. Centene has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $66.03. The company has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a PE ratio of -2.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $49.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 455.6% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 118.4% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.