IFP Advisors Inc Grows Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 198.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,114 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,406 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Centene were worth $115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306,796 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter valued at $146,557,000. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 155.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,901,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,802,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,280 shares during the period. 8 Knots Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 52.5% in the 1st quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC now owns 3,050,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,648 shares during the period. Finally, Focused Investors LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 588.1% during the first quarter. Focused Investors LLC now owns 1,042,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,284,000 after purchasing an additional 890,900 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $35.30 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $70.11. The stock has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

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

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 32,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective 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 reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.50.

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.