Perpetual Ltd Increases Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

Perpetual Ltd increased its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,133 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,864 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Centene from $25.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Centene from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.44.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $39.02 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $66.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a PE ratio of -3.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.71. The company had revenue of $49.69 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.