CenterBook Partners LP Raises Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

CenterBook Partners LP grew its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 67.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,759 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,963 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP's holdings in Centene were worth $1,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNC. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 73.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Down 1.4 %

Centene stock traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $62.94. The stock had a trading volume of 3,113,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,695,224. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $59.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53.

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Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Argus lowered Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.85.

Centene Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.