Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Purchases 45,260 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 599.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,816 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,260 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 76.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,654,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,356,152 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. raised its holdings in Centene by 184.0% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,761,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860,630 shares in the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC bought a new position in Centene in the third quarter worth $186,662,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Centene by 32.0% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,716,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,989,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Long Focus Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 705.4% in the third quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,299,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,028,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Centene from $39.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho raised their price target on Centene from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $41.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.82.

Centene Trading Up 1.8%

Centene stock opened at $55.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $25.08 and a one year high of $64.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.64 billion, a PE ratio of -4.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.59 and its 200 day moving average is $39.89.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The company had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. Centene’s revenue 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.

Centene 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.