Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd Takes Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $621,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Centene by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 221,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,398,000 after acquiring an additional 10,515 shares in the last quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,130 shares of the company's stock worth $1,159,000 after buying an additional 5,550 shares in the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,272,000. Bonfire Financial bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $490,000. Finally, Vantage Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 793,656 shares of the company's stock worth $48,080,000 after buying an additional 109,839 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CNC. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.77.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,738,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,882,217. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The company has a market capitalization of $28.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $60.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.21.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. Centene's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centene 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.