Oppenheimer Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Centene (NYSE:CNC)

Oppenheimer reissued their outperform rating on shares of Centene (NYSE:CNC) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays began coverage on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an overweight rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $85.00.

Centene Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $72.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Centene has a 1-year low of $60.83 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.84. The stock has a market cap of $38.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.38.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Centene will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,325,441,000. Harris Associates L P boosted its stake in Centene by 172.8% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,170,000 after purchasing an additional 6,881,450 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 535.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,837,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548,961 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 375.1% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,943,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,263,000 after buying an additional 1,534,826 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Centene by 8.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,788,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,351,000 after buying an additional 704,684 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.