Sciencast Management LP Buys Shares of 45,284 Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 45,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,743,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Down 1.2 %

Centene stock opened at $58.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.27. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $80.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CNC shares. Stephens reduced their target price on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

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.