Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,200,000 shares, a drop of 14.6% from the March 15th total of 9,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Centene in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $94.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.08.

Centene Trading Down 1.3 %

Centene stock opened at $70.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $60.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $76.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.47.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $39.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Centene will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Centene by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

About Centene

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.