Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) Position Boosted by Citigroup Inc.

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Centene Corporation by 43.4%, owning approximately $55.69 million worth of shares after acquiring an additional 277,830 shares in the first quarter.
• Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of Centene at an average cost of $27.62 each, raising his total ownership to 32,000 shares.
• Centene Corporation's quarterly earnings report revealed a loss of ($0.16) earnings per share, significantly missing analysts' expectations, despite reporting revenue of $48.74 billion, which exceeded expectations.

Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 43.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 917,283 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 277,830 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Centene worth $55,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,053,000 after buying an additional 2,319,952 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Centene by 1,788.1% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126,582 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 111.5% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,608,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902,277 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Centene by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,770,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802,265 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Centene by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,469,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,854,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,917 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were 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 directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 price of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,242,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,727,420. The firm has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.46, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $80.59.

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 firm had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The business's revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.20.

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.