Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Makes New $619,000 Investment in Centene Corporation $CNC

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $619,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Centene by 71.5% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 41,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 17,429 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth approximately $257,279,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth approximately $5,222,000. Paralel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter worth $4,531,000. Finally, Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Centene in the second quarter valued at $1,659,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Up 12.7%

CNC stock opened at $76.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $37.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.07. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $31.63 and a 1-year high of $77.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.48. Centene had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The company had revenue of $50.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 5.26 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Centene from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Argus raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 price objective on Centene in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation is a diversified healthcare enterprise that provides government-sponsored and commercial health insurance programs and related healthcare services. The company’s offerings are primarily focused on Medicaid, Medicare, and health insurance marketplace plans, with an emphasis on serving individuals and families who may have limited access to traditional healthcare coverage.

Centene operates Medicaid health plans through state-based contracts and offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drug, and Medicare Supplement products through its Wellcare brand.