Sciencast Management LP Buys Shares of 11,284 Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Centene by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,237,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,587,000 after purchasing an additional 6,051 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Centene by 3.3% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 19,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 3.4% during the first quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 59,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,707,000 after buying an additional 1,997 shares in the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter worth about $2,012,000. Finally, Affinity Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter valued at about $720,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Centene to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.86. The company had a trading volume of 4,033,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,361,339. The company’s 50-day moving average is $70.98 and its 200-day moving average is $74.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $36.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.50. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $60.83 and a twelve month high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of Centene 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 owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction 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 sale, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now 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.

Centene Company 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.