Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

MOH has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $412.00 to $351.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $354.00 to $297.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $354.00 to $353.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Molina Healthcare from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.00.

Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of Molina Healthcare stock opened at $289.72 on Friday. Molina Healthcare has a one year low of $282.96 and a one year high of $423.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $339.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $332.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $5.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.73 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $9.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 28.09% and a net margin of 2.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.65 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Molina Healthcare will post 23.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare

In related news, Director Steven J. Orlando sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.21, for a total value of $339,210.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,114,260.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Steven J. Orlando sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.21, for a total value of $339,210.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,114,260.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Maurice Hebert sold 393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.52, for a total value of $136,182.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,583.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,665,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $684,361,000 after acquiring an additional 15,264 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 949,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,343,000 after acquiring an additional 111,154 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 798,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,101,000 after acquiring an additional 103,245 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 470,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,026,000 after acquiring an additional 84,929 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 36.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 463,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,810,000 after acquiring an additional 123,121 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

About Molina Healthcare

Molina Healthcare, Inc provides managed healthcare services to low-income families and individuals under the Medicaid and Medicare programs and through the state insurance marketplaces. It operates in four segments: Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace, and Other. The company served in across 19 states. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Long Beach, California.