Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 524,420 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia more than doubled its stake in Centene during the first quarter, buying an additional 524,420 shares. The fund now owns 979,774 shares valued at about $32.1 million.
• Centene has continued to attract heavy institutional interest, with hedge funds and other institutional investors owning 93.63% of the stock. Several other investors also increased their positions in the latest quarter.
• Analysts remain split on Centene: the stock has an overall Hold rating with an average target price of $64.61, while recent reports have ranged from Sell to Overweight. The company also beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.37 EPS versus the expected $2.23.

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 115.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 979,774 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 524,420 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.20% of Centene worth $32,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gibbs Wealth Management grew its holdings in Centene by 106.9% in the first quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 29,881 shares of the company's stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 15,441 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in Centene by 20.7% during the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 12,230 shares of the company's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095 shares in the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new stake in Centene in the 1st quarter worth $159,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Centene by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 108,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,552,000 after purchasing an additional 4,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kopernik Global Investors LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 24.3% in the first quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 2,517,106 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,410,000 after buying an additional 492,054 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CNC. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.61.

Centene Stock Down 0.6%

Centene stock opened at $63.35 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $69.36. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $63.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $31.28 billion, a PE ratio of -4.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.07.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation NYSE: CNC is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene's offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.

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