Heartland Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors increased its Centene stake by 145.7% in the first quarter, adding 74,564 shares and bringing its total holding to 125,754 shares worth about $4.1 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors controlling 93.63% of Centene’s stock, and several other firms also added to their positions during the quarter.
• Centene reported stronger-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $3.37 versus the $2.23 estimate and revenue of $49.94 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus "Hold" with a $64.61 price target.

Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 145.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 125,754 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 74,564 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Centene were worth $4,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at $259,000. SouthState Bank Corp lifted its position in Centene by 1.3% during the first quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 24,013 shares of the company's stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the 1st quarter worth about $338,000. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 122,805 shares of the company's stock worth $4,021,000 after buying an additional 10,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 2,245 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $66.29 on Monday. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $69.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.90. The company has a market cap of $32.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CNC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective 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. Mizuho set a $63.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 price objective on Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.61.

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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