Praxis Investment Management Inc. Acquires 17,603 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Praxis Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 97.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,593 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,603 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Centene by 248.2% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 265.8% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter worth $76,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $40.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $20.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.78, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.47. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $66.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.71.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $49.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CNC. Barclays set a $44.00 price target on Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group set a $42.00 target price on Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Centene from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $24.00 to $32.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.44.

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.