AXS Investments LLC Acquires New Shares in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• AXS Investments LLC acquired 24,022 shares of Centene Corporation, totaling approximately $1,458,000, indicating institutional interest in the company.
• Several analysts have downgraded Centene's stock ratings, with new price targets set as low as $28.00, reflecting a cautious outlook amidst recent performance issues.
• Centene's stock has seen significant fluctuation, with a 12-month low of $25.11 and a high of $80.59, underscoring a volatile market environment.

AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 24,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,458,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prudential PLC increased its stake in shares of Centene by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 17,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter worth $9,115,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Centene by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 385,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,345,000 after purchasing an additional 32,304 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 118,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,474,000 after purchasing an additional 32,139 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,555,456 shares of the company's stock worth $639,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,416,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,123,356. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.30 and a 200-day moving average of $53.31. The company has a market cap of $12.56 billion, a PE ratio of 6.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.40. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $80.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on CNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America cut Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.20.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% 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.