45,284 Shares in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Acquired by Sciencast Management LP

Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 45,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,743,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in Centene by 172.7% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $58.88 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.

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.