18,137 Shares in Centene Corporation $CNC Purchased by Brookstone Capital Management

Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 18,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $647,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 2.8% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 8.0% during the second quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.6% in the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 8,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CNC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Centene from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Centene from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.44.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $41.22 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $66.81. The company has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.81, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $37.66 and its 200 day moving average is $35.39.

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

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.