Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $5.01 Million Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,679 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,828 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,978,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,344,676,000 after purchasing an additional 190,334 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 76.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,654,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,356,152 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,271,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $554,338,000 after purchasing an additional 697,277 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. raised its position in shares of Centene by 184.0% during the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Centene by 32.0% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,716,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,989,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,674 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CNC. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $47.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Centene from $58.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Centene from $48.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.24.

Centene Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $65.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.55. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $65.80.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.