Investment Research Partners LLC Acquires New Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

Investment Research Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 334.4% during the fourth quarter. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,753,000 after buying an additional 32,791 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,353,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,715,000 after buying an additional 52,903 shares in the last quarter. Xponance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 77,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,199,000 after buying an additional 3,609 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 2,570 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Down 2.8%

NYSE CNC opened at $63.53 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $66.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $50.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.83, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.09.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho set a $63.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Centene from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.24.

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.