602,172 Shares in Centene Corporation $CNC Bought by ARGA Investment Management LP

ARGA Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 602,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,485,000. ARGA Investment Management LP owned approximately 0.12% of Centene at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Centene by 66.0% during the 3rd quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 85,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,041,000 after purchasing an additional 33,875 shares during the period. Gibbs Wealth Management lifted its stake in Centene by 16.2% in the third quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 15,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,210 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 209,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,480,000 after purchasing an additional 108,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $228,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. UBS Group set a $42.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $38.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays set a $44.00 price objective on Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Centene from $25.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.81.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $46.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $66.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.08. The company has a market cap of $22.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 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, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $49.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centene Company Profile

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.