Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 314,980 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 1,281.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 339,553 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 314,980 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.07% of Centene worth $11,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company's stock worth $1,308,518,000 after acquiring an additional 17,143,904 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $332,044,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. increased its position in shares of Centene by 184.0% during the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,761,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860,630 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Centene by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,171,568 shares of the company's stock worth $295,111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,472,341 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 535.6% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,750,326 shares of the company's stock worth $113,176,000 after buying an additional 2,317,618 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Centene reported adjusted second-quarter EPS of $2.51, well above the $1.09 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 9.9% year over year to $53.58 billion. Margin recovery, cost discipline and stronger Marketplace performance supported the results. Centene Could Be 3% Undervalued After Strong Q2 Earnings And Higher Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its 2026 outlook to approximately $4.80 in EPS, citing contained medical costs and continued margin improvement. The guidance increase initially prompted a positive market reaction. Centene Lifts 2026 Outlook as Insurer Contains Medical Costs
• Positive Sentiment: Positive momentum and value assessments continue: Zacks included CNC among its Rank #1 Strong Buy momentum stocks, while other coverage described the shares as potentially undervalued following their substantial recovery. Best Momentum Stock to Buy for July 30th
• Neutral Sentiment: Robert W. Baird raised its price target from $46 to $66 but maintained a Neutral rating, implying limited upside from the current trading level. Centene also announced plans to redeem $500 million of its 2027 notes, reducing future debt obligations. Centene Announces Partial Redemption of 2027 Notes
• Negative Sentiment: The main pressure is concern over declining Medicaid enrollment and the sustainability of the earnings recovery. Investors appear to be treating the improved outlook cautiously because lower membership could weigh on future revenue, while higher medical utilization remains a risk. Oscar Health Flashes Buy Signal As Medicaid Weighs On Centene

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $61.00 price target (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Mizuho set a $63.00 price objective on Centene and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Zacks Research lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.00.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $60.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.83, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.19. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $69.36.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.64 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. Centene's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.16) EPS. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.800- EPS. Equities analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.95 EPS for the current year.

About Centene

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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