National Pension Service Has $56.16 Million Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• The National Pension Service reduced its stake in Centene Corporation by 2.7%, now holding approximately 0.19% of the company, valued at $56.16 million.
• Centene's stock is currently down by 0.5% and reported a net loss of ($0.16) EPS, missing analysts' estimates by ($0.39), despite a revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter.
• Recent analyst recommendations include multiple downgrades, with Barclays lowering its price target from $65 to $45 and Bank of America cutting its target from $52 to $30.

National Pension Service lessened its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 925,103 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,534 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.19% of Centene worth $56,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 203.1% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 273.8% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 927 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE CNC traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $28.99. The company had a trading volume of 14,827,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,574,824. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The firm's 50 day moving average is $37.47 and its 200-day moving average is $51.83.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CNC. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.20.

Centene 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.