Centene (NYSE:CNC) Earns “Overweight” Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Centene (NYSE:CNC)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $90.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price indicates a potential upside of 55.17% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.62.

Centene Stock Up 1.9 %

CNC stock opened at $58.00 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.80. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $29.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

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

Institutional Trading of Centene

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Park Place Capital Corp grew its holdings in Centene by 1,190.0% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 41.4% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc bought a new position in shares of Centene during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 174.3% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.