Barclays Maintains an 'Overweight' on Centene (CNC); 2012 Guidance Above Expectations on Contract Wins; Pipeline Remains Robust
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Price: $51.34 --0%
Rating Summary:
5 Buy, 10 Hold, 0 Sell
Rating Trend:
Down
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 9 | Down: 9 | New: 13
Rating Summary:
5 Buy, 10 Hold, 0 Sell
Rating Trend:
Down
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 9 | Down: 9 | New: 13
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Barclays maintains an 'Overweight' on Centene (NYSE: CNC) price target of $43.00.
Barclays analyst says, "Centene provided formal guidance for 2012 that was better than expected. Centene announced that 2012 earnings per share would fall within the range of $2.60-$2.80, representing annual growth of roughly 28% when using midpoints. The midpoint of the new guidance is also 3% above both the Street consensus and our previous estimate. Centene is guiding to revenues in the range of $7.2 billion-$7.6 billion, up an impressive 44% at the midpoint from its updated 2011 range. The underlying metrics suggest an increase in the MLR line and a reduction in G&A expenses as a percent of revenues. We believe these metrics are in line with to perhaps modestly better than comments from the company six weeks ago and appear to be slightly better than current Street expectations."
"Actions: With the guidance issuance, we are maintaining our 2011 EPS estimates and increasing our EPS estimates for 2012. Specifically, we are taking our 2012 estimate from $2.50 to $2.70, at the midpoint of the company's initial 2012 guidance."
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Centene click here. For more ratings news on Centene click here.
Shares of Centene closed at $38.31 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $24.50-$39.35.
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Barclays analyst says, "Centene provided formal guidance for 2012 that was better than expected. Centene announced that 2012 earnings per share would fall within the range of $2.60-$2.80, representing annual growth of roughly 28% when using midpoints. The midpoint of the new guidance is also 3% above both the Street consensus and our previous estimate. Centene is guiding to revenues in the range of $7.2 billion-$7.6 billion, up an impressive 44% at the midpoint from its updated 2011 range. The underlying metrics suggest an increase in the MLR line and a reduction in G&A expenses as a percent of revenues. We believe these metrics are in line with to perhaps modestly better than comments from the company six weeks ago and appear to be slightly better than current Street expectations."
"Actions: With the guidance issuance, we are maintaining our 2011 EPS estimates and increasing our EPS estimates for 2012. Specifically, we are taking our 2012 estimate from $2.50 to $2.70, at the midpoint of the company's initial 2012 guidance."
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Centene click here. For more ratings news on Centene click here.
Shares of Centene closed at $38.31 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $24.50-$39.35.
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