Homestead Advisers Corp Sells 143,500 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Homestead Advisers Corp cut its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 23.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 478,136 shares of the company’s stock after selling 143,500 shares during the period. Homestead Advisers Corp owned about 0.10% of Centene worth $25,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306,796 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the first quarter worth $146,557,000. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Centene by 155.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,901,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,802,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373,280 shares during the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 52.5% during the 1st quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC now owns 3,050,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focused Investors LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 588.1% in the 1st quarter. Focused Investors LLC now owns 1,042,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,284,000 after purchasing an additional 890,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 4.3%

CNC opened at $36.00 on Wednesday. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $66.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.83 and a 200-day moving average of $41.08. The stock has a market cap of $17.69 billion, a PE ratio of -3.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.71. The company had revenue of $49.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.50 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CNC. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Centene from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.53.

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.