Centene (NYSE:CNC) Given New $85.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Centene (NYSE:CNC) had its target price cut by Oppenheimer from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

CNC has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.31.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $59.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.62. The stock has a market cap of $29.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. Centene has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $81.42.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % 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 Investors Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harris Associates L P boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,825 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 22.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,799,000 after buying an additional 832,318 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 14.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,042,000 after buying an additional 636,683 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,126,000 after acquiring an additional 428,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,400,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,838,000 after acquiring an additional 416,003 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.