Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Shares Bought by LSV Asset Management

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 23.7%, now owning approximately 4.06 million shares valued at around $246.2 million.
• Centene's stock recently declined 0.6% to $25.92, with a significant price drop from its one-year high of $80.59.
• In its latest earnings report, Centene missed analysts' EPS estimates, reporting ($0.16) per share compared to expectations of $0.23, despite a revenue increase of 22.4% year-over-year.

LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 23.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,055,764 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 776,331 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.82% of Centene worth $246,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock worth $469,053,000 after buying an additional 2,319,952 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Centene by 1,788.1% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company's stock worth $136,033,000 after buying an additional 2,126,582 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 111.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,608,213 shares of the company's stock worth $219,055,000 after buying an additional 1,902,277 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 1,884,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Centene by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,770,426 shares of the company's stock worth $228,414,000 after buying an additional 1,802,265 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $25.92 on Friday. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.11 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The firm 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 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $43.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.59.

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). Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%. The business had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CNC. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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