Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Centene Corporation, owning approximately 4.43 million shares valued at $269.13 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Insider transactions saw CEO Sarah London and Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchase shares recently, indicating confidence in the company's future performance.
• Centene's recent financial results showed a loss of $0.16 earnings per share, falling short of analyst expectations, despite a 22.4% year-over-year revenue increase.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,433,451 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,462 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.89% of Centene worth $269,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 203.1% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 273.8% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 927 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at $21,554,512.50. The trade was a 2.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was bought 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 represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC traded up $0.5170 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.3270. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,876,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,792,844. The business's fifty day moving average is $34.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $80.59. The stock has a market cap of $14.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.26, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The firm 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 company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.