Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,490,000 shares, an increase of 25.2% from the April 30th total of 7,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CNC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays increased their target price on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Centene by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Centene by 1.0% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 5.0% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Up 3.8 %

CNC stock traded up $2.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.59. 7,385,022 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,375,411. The company has a market cap of $38.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $74.88 and its 200-day moving average is $75.62. Centene has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.11 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Centene will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

About Centene

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.