Banco Santander S.A. Boosts Holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 203.7% during the first quarter, owning 172,069 shares valued at approximately $10.4 million.
• Several institutional investors also acquired new positions in Centene, with hedge funds now holding 93.63% of the company's stock.
• Centene reported a significant earnings miss, with an EPS of ($0.16), falling short of the expected $0.23 by ($0.39), even as revenue grew by 22.4% year-over-year.

Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 203.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,069 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 115,411 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Centene were worth $10,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 203.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CNC shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.53.

Centene Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $25.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.42, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.53. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.11 and a 52 week high of $80.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $883,840. The trade was a 39.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.

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