Aquatic Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 41,855 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,155 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Centene by 73.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Up 3.2 %

Centene stock opened at $59.51 on Tuesday. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.72. The company has a market capitalization of $29.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CNC. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Centene from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim began coverage on Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Centene 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.