By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Centene (NYSE:CNC – Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.
CNC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.92.
View Our Latest Report on Centene
Centene Stock Performance
Shares of CNC stock traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $65.88. The company had a trading volume of 2,877,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,089,980. The firm has a market cap of $33.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $60.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.25. Centene has a one year low of $55.03 and a one year 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.
Insider Activity
In other 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Centene by 70.3% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 20,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 8,387 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,374,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in Centene by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 328,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,783,000 after purchasing an additional 41,671 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Centene by 0.7% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 378,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 64.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 32,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,154,000 after buying an additional 12,674 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.
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