Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Holdings Boosted by Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC

Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 273.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 927 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 679 shares during the quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $56,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.31.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $55.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.45 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $59.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.09. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $54.01 and a 52 week high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. Research analysts expect 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.