Centene (NYSE:CNC) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $57.20 and last traded at $57.75, with a volume of 351118 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Centene Trading Up 0.5 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.99. The firm has a market cap of $29.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 17.1% during the 3rd 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. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of Centene by 35.8% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 7,385 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Centene by 189.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 15,819 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Centene by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 118,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,307,000 after buying an additional 8,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in Centene by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,435,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,063,000 after buying an additional 191,768 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently 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.