Advisors Preferred LLC Invests $563,000 in Centene Corporation $CNC

Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Centene by 66.0% during the third quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 85,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,041,000 after acquiring an additional 33,875 shares during the last quarter. Packer & Co Ltd purchased a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter worth $50,487,000. ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at about $21,485,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Centene by 122.5% during 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. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Centene by 6.2% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,384,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,724,000 after buying an additional 199,016 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Down 1.1%

CNC stock opened at $43.21 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $66.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.94.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Argus raised shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Three 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.88.

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.