Clearstead Advisors LLC Acquires 14,520 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 108.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,907 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,520 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,344,676,000 after purchasing an additional 190,334 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 76.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,654,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,356,152 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 184.0% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,761,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860,630 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,716,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,989,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Centene by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,290,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,881,041 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 target price (up from $45.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $41.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.65.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $58.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s fifty day moving average is $44.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.14. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $60.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. The company had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.90 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Centene Profile

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.