Centene (NYSE:CNC) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $60.42 and last traded at $60.59, with a volume of 989060 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.17.

Centene Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $34.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 1,190.0% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 41.4% in 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 Centene in the second quarter worth $33,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in Centene by 154.6% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.