Short Interest in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Rises By 7.6%

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 16,310,000 shares, a growth of 7.6% from the November 15th total of 15,160,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centene news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Centene by 47.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,527 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Centene by 17.9% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 8,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in Centene by 459.2% during the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group raised its stake in shares of Centene by 192.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 13,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 8,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,117,000 after buying an additional 25,595 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CNC. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.92.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded down $1.37 on Tuesday, reaching $57.81. 7,270,655 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,120,537. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $61.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46.

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.