Entropy Technologies LP Invests $3.71 Million in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 61,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,708,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Centene by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 26,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after buying an additional 7,229 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Centene by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 279,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,949,000 after buying an additional 41,327 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,699,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Centene by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 3,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 697 shares during the period. Finally, Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Centene by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 83,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 12,537 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CNC. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.31.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,153,712.75. This represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 40,893 shares of company stock worth $2,409,962. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $58.95 on Friday. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $29.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Centene Co. 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.