Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Acquired by 8 Knots Management LLC

Key Points

• 8 Knots Management LLC increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 52.5%, acquiring an additional 1,050,648 shares, making Centene its largest holding at approximately $185.2 million.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets for Centene, with UBS Group lowering it significantly from $45.00 to $31.00, while Wells Fargo cut their target from $72.00 to $30.00 and downgraded the stock rating.
• Centene reported a loss of $0.16 per share for the recent quarter, missing expectations, but also saw a revenue increase of 22.4% year-over-year, totaling $48.74 billion.

8 Knots Management LLC increased its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 52.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,050,904 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,050,648 shares during the period. Centene makes up 23.4% of 8 Knots Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. 8 Knots Management LLC owned 0.61% of Centene worth $185,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Centene by 5.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,091,964 shares of the company's stock worth $673,393,000 after purchasing an additional 536,508 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Centene by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,469,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578,917 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Centene by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,433,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,134,000 after acquiring an additional 28,462 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Centene by 23.7% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,055,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,225,000 after acquiring an additional 776,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Centene by 5.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,004,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,092,000 after acquiring an additional 200,716 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Centene Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.97. 14,106,172 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,184,450. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business's 50-day moving average price is $29.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.83. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $77.29.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.Centene's revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. Analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Centene from $33.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.93.

Centene Company Profile

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.