Bayesian Capital Management LP Acquires New Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 60,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,677,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 221,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,398,000 after purchasing an additional 10,515 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in Centene by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 36,126 shares of the company's stock worth $2,189,000 after buying an additional 14,671 shares during the last quarter. Polianta Ltd increased its stake in shares of Centene by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 22,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Centene by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,082,000 after acquiring an additional 343,559 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Centene by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,550 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock traded down $0.05 on Tuesday, hitting $59.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,212,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,774,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59. The stock's 50 day moving average is $60.27 and its 200-day moving average is $60.46. The company has a market capitalization of $29.72 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on CNC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus lowered shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.77.

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.