Lyrical Asset Management LP Raises Stock Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• Lyrical Asset Management LP has increased its position in Centene Corporation to approximately $135.77 million, owning about 2.1% of its investment portfolio in the company.
• Equities analysts have recently downgraded Centene, with several firms adjusting their price targets down significantly, resulting in a current consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.20.
• Centene Corporation reported a loss of $0.16 EPS for the last quarter, missing expectations, even though its revenue rose by 22.4% compared to the previous year.

Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,236,350 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,079 shares during the quarter. Centene accounts for 2.1% of Lyrical Asset Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Lyrical Asset Management LP owned about 0.45% of Centene worth $135,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 203.1% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in Centene by 273.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 927 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock traded up $0.2790 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $29.2690. 8,975,571 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,605,931. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.24, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.40. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%.The company had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of America lowered shares of Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.20.

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.