Centene (CNC) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Centene (CNC) closed at $45.39 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.11% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.07% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.14%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.22%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the healthcare company had lost 5.61% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's gain of 0.45% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.58% in that time.
CNC will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect CNC to post earnings of $0.97 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 8.88%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $18.36 billion, up 13.45% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.42 per share and revenue of $73.68 billion, which would represent changes of +24.73% and +22.56%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for CNC. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.06% lower. CNC is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note CNC's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 10.17. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.39.
It is also worth noting that CNC currently has a PEG ratio of 0.72. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. CNC's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.04 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - HMOs industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 90, putting it in the top 36% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Centene Corporation (CNC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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