Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor Purchases Shares of 178,402 Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management acquired 178,402 Centene shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $11.45 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.63% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Centene has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $69.15, with targets ranging from $66 to $71.
• Centene reported quarterly EPS of $2.51, well above the $1.09 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 9.9% year over year to $53.58 billion. Shares opened at $64.32, compared with a one-year range of $28.24 to $69.36.

Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 178,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,452,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Centene by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Bayban purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.15.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $64.32 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.77 billion, a PE ratio of -6.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.08. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $28.24 and a one year high of $69.36.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The firm had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.16) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centene 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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