Alberta Investment Management Corp Increases Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 880,700 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,897 shares during the quarter. Centene accounts for approximately 0.5% of Alberta Investment Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned 0.18% of Centene worth $47,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Polianta Ltd purchased a new position in Centene in the second quarter valued at about $1,253,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,033,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Centene by 83.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 42,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,566,000 after acquiring an additional 19,181 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,810,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,045,000 after acquiring an additional 143,573 shares during the period. Finally, Focused Investors LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 19.9% during the second quarter. Focused Investors LLC now owns 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,850,000 after purchasing an additional 207,600 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $36.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.89 billion, a PE ratio of -3.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.49. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $66.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $34.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.89.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. 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 negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. The firm had revenue of $49.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Centene’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $44.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $38.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Centene from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Centene from $41.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.47.

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.