Short Interest in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Grows By 18.7%

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) saw a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,670,000 shares, a growth of 18.7% from the January 15th total of 5,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, Director H James Dallas acquired 1,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,353,780. This represents a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 221,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,398,000 after buying an additional 10,515 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 36,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,189,000 after buying an additional 14,671 shares during the last quarter. Polianta Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 22,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 17.1% during the third quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 683,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,478,000 after purchasing an additional 99,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Centene by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,082,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 0.1 %

CNC opened at $56.87 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $61.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.47. The company has a market cap of $28.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. Centene has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Centene will post 6.97 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.