In a report released today, Michael Wiederhorn from Oppenheimer maintained a Buy rating on Centene Corp (NYSE: CNC), with a price target of $158. The company’s shares closed yesterday at $145.35, close to its 52-week high of $148.24.
Wiederhorn observed:
“We hosted meetings with Centene’s management and believe that the company remains well-positioned due to stable cost-trend and the potential for growth in the coming years, particularly in the Medicare and Exchange businesses. Furthermore, the recent integration of the Fidelis deal remains on track, and the additional accretion/ synergies should drive incremental earnings growth in 2019 and beyond. Given Centene’s continued bullish prospects, we are increasing our price target to $158 from $146.”
According to TipRanks.com, Wiederhorn is a top 100 analyst with an average return of 18.4% and a 73.2% success rate. Wiederhorn covers the Services sector, focusing on stocks such as Cross Country Healthcare, Addus Homecare Corp, and Community Health.
The word on The Street in general, suggests a Strong Buy analyst consensus rating for Centene Corp with a $154 average price target, implying a 6.0% upside from current levels. In a report issued on September 19, MUFG Securities Americas Inc also initiated coverage with a Buy rating on the stock with a $170 price target.
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Based on Centene Corp’s latest earnings release for the quarter ending June 30, the company reported a quarterly revenue of $14.18 billion and net profit of $300 million. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $11.9 billion and had a net profit of $205 million.
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Centene Corp. engages in the provision of programs and services to government sponsored healthcare programs. It operates through the Managed Care and Specialty Services segments. The Medicaid Managed Care segment provides health plan coverage to individuals through government subsidized programs through Medicaid.
