UBS Group Upgrades Centene (NYSE:CNC) to Buy

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was upgraded by UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $80.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $79.00. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 34.63% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on CNC. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays cut their target price on Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.31.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $59.42 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $62.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.59. Centene has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 683,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,478,000 after acquiring an additional 99,904 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Centene by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,766,683,000 after buying an additional 111,654 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Centene by 15.4% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,435,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,063,000 after buying an additional 191,768 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Centene by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 118,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,944,000 after acquiring an additional 28,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its stake in Centene by 273.5% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 44,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,334,000 after purchasing an additional 32,428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

About Centene

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.