Sciencast Management LP Purchases New Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its stake in Centene by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 327,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,298,000 after buying an additional 112,605 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in Centene by 435.0% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 20,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 16,304 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. increased its stake in Centene by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 305,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,655,000 after purchasing an additional 33,350 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,215,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,239,000 after buying an additional 231,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 947,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,320,000 after buying an additional 51,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CNC. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $90.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.86. 4,033,718 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,361,339. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $60.83 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The company has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.33.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. Centene’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Centene

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

Centene Profile

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.