Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Short Interest Update

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,050,000 shares, a decline of 38.1% from the February 13th total of 9,780,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.27. The company had a trading volume of 4,322,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,468,281. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.73. 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 has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The stock has a market cap of $28.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Centene will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other 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, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

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.