NewEdge Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Centene Corporation by 175.2% in Q1, acquiring an additional 26,972 shares valued at approximately $2.57 million.
• Centene reported a loss of ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the most recent quarter, significantly missing the consensus estimate of $0.23, but saw a 22.4% increase in revenue year-over-year to $48.74 billion.
• Multiple analysts have recently lowered their target price for Centene, with reports indicating a consensus price target of $37.93, reflecting a cautious outlook on the stock, rated mostly as "Hold."

NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 175.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,363 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,972 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $2,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $1,529,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Centene by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 125,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,595,000 after acquiring an additional 18,654 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its holdings in Centene by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 22,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 3,946 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $277,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 16,633 shares of the company's stock worth $1,008,000 after buying an additional 3,233 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Trading Up 0.7%

CNC opened at $31.29 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.26. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $77.29. The firm has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The business 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 company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays set a $33.00 target price on Centene and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Centene from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.93.

Insider Activity

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 9,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

About Centene

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.

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