Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Acquired by CSM Advisors LLC

CSM Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 1.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 151,288 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,830 shares during the quarter. CSM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $8,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Centene in the second quarter valued at $15,505,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 4.8% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 943,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,219,000 after buying an additional 43,067 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Centene by 250.9% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,930 shares during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 5.1% in the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 371,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,153,000 after acquiring an additional 17,977 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Centene by 4.2% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Up 1.1%

CNC opened at $37.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a PE ratio of -3.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.49. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $66.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a positive return on equity of 7.82% and a negative net margin of 2.85%.The company had revenue of $49.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Centene’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Centene from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $38.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Centene from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.82.

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.