Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Sold by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 23.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,509 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,122 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Centene were worth $7,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in Centene during the 1st quarter worth $318,000. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Centene by 55.5% during the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Centene by 9.6% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 66,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,050,000 after purchasing an additional 5,825 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 33.2% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 255,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,492,000 after purchasing an additional 63,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Centene by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 155,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,440,000 after purchasing an additional 5,289 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $38.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Centene from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Centene from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $38.71 on Thursday. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $66.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $36.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.07. The company has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.58, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.71. The company had revenue of $49.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.50 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.