Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $33.19, but opened at $36.60. Centene shares last traded at $36.1070, with a volume of 5,578,138 shares.

The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The firm had revenue of $49.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Centene from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Centene in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, July 21st. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 203.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. WPG Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 44.5% in the 3rd quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 11,011.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Trading Up 12.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $33.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.97.

Centene Company 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.