Polar Capital Holdings Plc Has $11.04 Million Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc trimmed its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 182,178 shares of the company’s stock after selling 79,326 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s holdings in Centene were worth $11,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prana Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $555,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 98,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after buying an additional 5,536 shares during the last quarter. Prosight Management LP acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,332,000. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $452,000. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $691,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Argus cut Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.77.

Centene Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of CNC opened at $60.03 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.60 and its 200-day moving average is $60.45. 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 market cap of $29.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48.

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

About Centene

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.