Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC reduced its stake in Centene Corporation by 76.4% in the first quarter, now holding 65,893 shares valued at approximately $4 million.
• Several large investors have shifted their positions in Centene, with Farther Finance Advisors increasing holdings by 32.3% and Focused Investors LLC increasing theirs by 588.1% during the same period.
• Centene reported a loss of ($0.16) EPS in its latest earnings report, missing analysts' estimates, despite a 22.4% year-over-year increase in revenue, which totaled $48.74 billion.

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 76.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,893 shares of the company's stock after selling 213,890 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $4,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Centene in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Centene from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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

Shares of NYSE CNC traded up $0.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $32.27. 2,872,396 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,222,988. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $28.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $15.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.44. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $77.17. 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 (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. Centene's revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share 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.