Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $61.62, but opened at $70.00. Centene shares last traded at $68.31, with a volume of 3,192,073 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.23. Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The company had revenue of $42.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.91 billion.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the first quarter worth $914,080,000. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Centene by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,033,000 after buying an additional 32,427 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,117,000 after acquiring an additional 25,595 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Centene by 60.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Centene by 14.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,042,000 after purchasing an additional 636,683 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.31. The stock has a market cap of $34.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children’s health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.