National Bank of Canada FI Has $21.89 Million Position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Centene Corporation by 29.8%, acquiring a total of 360,501 shares valued at approximately $21.9 million.
• Centene's stock experienced a 1.3% increase, with a current price of $25.58, while the company reported a quarterly earnings miss of ($0.16) EPS against an estimate of $0.23.
• Analysts have reduced their price targets for Centene, with Barclays setting a new target of $45.00 and JPMorgan cutting it to $30.00, signaling a cautious outlook on the stock's performance.

National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 29.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 360,501 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 82,738 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.07% of Centene worth $21,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,053,000 after acquiring an additional 2,319,952 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,469,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578,917 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Centene by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,294,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,760,000 after acquiring an additional 443,121 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Centene by 23.7% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,055,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,225,000 after acquiring an additional 776,331 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene by 5.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,004,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,092,000 after acquiring an additional 200,716 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,242,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,727,420. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $12.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.12 and a 200-day moving average of $52.70.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $33.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $42.20.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 19,230 shares of the company's 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 acquisition, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Centene Company 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.