Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $58.48, but opened at $56.65. Centene shares last traded at $57.30, with a volume of 741,972 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CNC shares. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stephens lowered their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

Centene Trading Down 1.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.23, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly 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. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Centene’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 7.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 5,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,353,780. This represents a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at $99,903.93. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Centene by 2.1% during the third quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Centene by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.