Daytona Street Capital LLC Purchases New Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 62,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,566,000. Centene accounts for about 1.7% of Daytona Street Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Centene by 66.0% during the third quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 85,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,041,000 after buying an additional 33,875 shares during the period. Oracle Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Centene in the third quarter valued at about $3,936,000. Packer & Co Ltd purchased a new position in Centene in the third quarter valued at about $50,487,000. ARGA Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Centene in the third quarter valued at about $21,485,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Centene by 122.5% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 223,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,962,000 after purchasing an additional 122,870 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Centene from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Centene from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $44.00 target price on Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.81.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC opened at $35.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a PE ratio of -2.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.98 and a 200-day moving average of $38.83. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $66.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $49.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.41 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 4.25% and a negative net margin of 3.43%.The firm’s revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.