Centene (NYSE:CNC) Trading Down 5.7% – Time to Sell?

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)’s share price was down 5.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $57.71 and last traded at $57.85. Approximately 1,127,018 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 4,462,448 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus cut Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Centene Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $28.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $61.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.49.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $294,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,353,780. This trade represents a 27.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director H James Dallas acquired 1,693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 2.1% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 73,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,471,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Centene by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,083,000 after acquiring an additional 8,014 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Centene by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 108,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,147,000 after purchasing an additional 4,355 shares during the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Centene by 119.6% in the third quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 7,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 4,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 152.0% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 7,049 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.