Stephens Cuts Centene (NYSE:CNC) Price Target to $73.00

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its price target trimmed by Stephens from $75.00 to $73.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CNC. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.31.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $59.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.62. Centene has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $81.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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