Centene (NYSE:CNC) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Centene (NYSE:CNC) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 6.700- for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 6.780. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays started coverage on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an overweight rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Centene from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Centene from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $85.46.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $78.48 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.04. The company has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $60.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.02. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The firm had revenue of $39.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Centene will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 84,741.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 225,379,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,483,403,000 after acquiring an additional 225,114,221 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth $713,235,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,119,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,839,000 after buying an additional 332,702 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Centene by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,579,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,845,000 after acquiring an additional 690,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Centene by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,776,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,725,000 after acquiring an additional 377,506 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.