Analysts Set Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) PT at $83.92

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $83.92.

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

Insider Activity

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction 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 approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vantage Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 17.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Centene by 35.8% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after buying an additional 7,385 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 189.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after buying an additional 15,819 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Centene by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 118,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,307,000 after buying an additional 8,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in Centene by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,435,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,063,000 after acquiring an additional 191,768 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $60.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $30.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. Centene has a 52 week low of $57.20 and a 52 week high of $81.42.

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.