Hengehold Capital Management LLC Buys 45,291 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Hengehold Capital Management purchased 45,291 Centene shares in the third quarter, valued at approximately $2.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.63% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with nine Buy, ten Hold, and two Sell ratings; Centene has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $70.05.
• Centene reported quarterly earnings of $2.51 per share, well above the $1.09 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 9.9% year over year to $53.58 billion. The stock recently traded at $69.27, near its 52-week high of $71.21.

Hengehold Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 45,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,813,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 3.9% during the third quarter. Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC now owns 4,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Centene by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,683 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Centene by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,294 shares of the company's stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in Centene by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Centene by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on CNC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group set a $79.00 target price on Centene in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,648,332.60. The trade was a 18.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Price Performance

CNC stock traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.27. 3,336,077 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,808,065. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.67. The company has a market cap of $34.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.13. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $31.63 and a one year high of $71.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The firm had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share. Centene's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

About Centene

Centene Corporation NYSE: CNC is a healthcare enterprise that provides health insurance and related services, primarily through government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicaid plans, Medicare products, health plans sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and services for military families through government-sponsored healthcare programs.

The company also provides pharmacy, behavioral health, specialty healthcare, care management and administrative services through various subsidiaries and partner organizations.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CNC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.