Centene Corp. (NYSE: CNC)’s stock price has decreased by -2.22 compared to its previous closing price of 75.68. However, the company has seen a -1.53% decrease in its stock price over the last five trading sessions. Zacks Investment Research reported 2024-04-26 that Centene’s (CNC) Q1 results reflect strength in the Commercial business line. Management currently expects adjusted EPS to be greater than $6.80 for 2024.
Is It Worth Investing in Centene Corp. (NYSE: CNC) Right Now?
Centene Corp. (NYSE: CNC) has a higher price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70x compared to its average ratio. CNC has 36-month beta value of 0.40. Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with 7 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 5 as “overweight,” 5 as “hold,” and 0 as “sell.”
The public float for CNC is 529.36M, and currently, short sellers hold a 1.43% ratio of that float. The average trading volume of CNC on April 29, 2024 was 3.04M shares.
CNC’s Market Performance
CNC stock saw a decrease of -1.53% in the past week, with a monthly decline of -5.55% and a quarterly a decrease of 0.31%. The volatility ratio for the week is 2.24%, and the volatility levels for the last 30 days are 2.29% for Centene Corp. (CNC). The simple moving average for the last 20 days is 0.27% for CNC stock, with a simple moving average of 2.49% for the last 200 days.
Analysts’ Opinion of CNC
Many brokerage firms have already submitted their reports for CNC stocks, with Stephens repeating the rating for CNC by listing it as a “Equal-Weight.” The predicted price for CNC in the upcoming period, according to Stephens is $85 based on the research report published on March 21, 2024 of the current year 2024.
Barclays, on the other hand, stated in their research note that they expect to see CNC reach a price target of $101. The rating they have provided for CNC stocks is “Overweight” according to the report published on March 06th, 2024.
Wells Fargo gave a rating of “Overweight” to CNC, setting the target price at $90 in the report published on January 02nd of the current year.
CNC Trading at -3.13% from the 50-Day Moving Average
After a stumble in the market that brought CNC to its low price for the period of the last 52 weeks, the company was unable to rebound, for now settling with -9.11% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 2.29%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 2.24%, as shares sank -5.71% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading -4.50% lower at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, CNC fell by -1.53%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by +15.99% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $73.58. In addition, Centene Corp. saw -0.28% in overturn over a single year, with a tendency to cut further losses.
Insider Trading
Reports are indicating that there were more than several insider trading activities at CNC starting from Robinson Lori Jean, who sale 10,000 shares at the price of $77.41 back on Feb 13 ’24. After this action, Robinson Lori Jean now owns 11,455 shares of Centene Corp., valued at $774,100 using the latest closing price.
FASOLA KENNETH J, the President of Centene Corp., sale 12,000 shares at $75.07 during a trade that took place back on Feb 07 ’24, which means that FASOLA KENNETH J is holding 235,365 shares at $900,817 based on the most recent closing price.
Stock Fundamentals for CNC
Current profitability levels for the company are sitting at:
- 0.02 for the present operating margin
- 0.2 for the gross margin
The net margin for Centene Corp. stands at 0.02. The total capital return value is set at 0.06. Equity return is now at value 10.52, with 3.30 for asset returns.
Based on Centene Corp. (CNC), the company’s capital structure generated 0.4 points at debt to capital in total, while cash flow to debt ratio is standing at 0.18. The debt to equity ratio resting at 0.67. The interest coverage ratio of the stock is -3.9.
Currently, EBITDA for the company is 2.93 billion with net debt to EBITDA at 0.15. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 0.26. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 1.17.
Conclusion
To put it simply, Centene Corp. (CNC) has had a mixed performance in recent times. Analysts have a bullish opinion on the stock, with some rating it as a “buy” and others as a “hold”. It’s important to note that the stock is currently trading at a significant distance from its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.
