OFI Invest Asset Management Buys 527 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

OFI Invest Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 44.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,700 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management’s holdings in Centene were worth $92,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Centene by 32.3% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Centene by 55.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Centene during the first quarter worth $315,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 49.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 136,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,267,000 after buying an additional 45,163 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 75,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,554,000 after buying an additional 4,396 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.7%

CNC opened at $36.38 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.22. The firm has a market cap of $17.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $73.14.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $41.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.07.

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.