Legal & General Group Plc Increases Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,447,224 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 323,473 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Centene were worth $158,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 455.6% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 44.5% in the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Centene by 11,011.1% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 152.5% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $44.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Centene from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Argus upgraded Centene to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.06.

Centene Trading Down 3.9%

NYSE:CNC opened at $34.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.96 and a 200 day moving average of $38.29. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $66.03.

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