Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 129,075 Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 28.2% during the first quarter, now holding shares valued at approximately $35.64 million.
• Centene reported a loss of $0.16 EPS for the latest quarter, missing expectations, despite revenues of $48.74 billion which surpassed analyst estimates.
• Equity analysts adjusted their ratings and price targets for Centene, with Oppenheimer reducing the target from $51 to $43, while JPMorgan cut theirs from $48 to $30, reflecting concerns over the stock's future performance.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 28.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 587,003 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 129,075 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.12% of Centene worth $35,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Centene by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,092 shares of the company's stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,221 shares of the company's stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of Centene by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 3,811 shares of the company's stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Centene by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,387 shares of the company's stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Centene by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,216 shares of the company's stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.92. 17,527,511 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,992,306. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.59. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.11 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59. The stock has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%. The firm had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 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 of the company's stock, valued at $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $72.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.31.

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.