Quantessence Capital LLC Takes $2.11 Million Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Quantessence Capital LLC bought a new position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 34,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,114,000. Centene makes up approximately 0.9% of Quantessence Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at $844,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 42,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,171,000 after acquiring an additional 7,549 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Centene by 32.4% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,152 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Centene by 3.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 621,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,799,000 after acquiring an additional 22,233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Centene from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.69.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $57.97 on Tuesday. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $28.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centene Company 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.

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