Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 143.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,225 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,798 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Centene by 2.1% during the third quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 5,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of Centene by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock opened at $57.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $55.03 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.98. The company has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.45.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 7.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,353,780. This represents a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.

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.