Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 34.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,042 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,092 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $1,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in shares of Centene by 35.7% in the first quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 4,924 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 1,295 shares during the last quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 3.4% in the first quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Washington Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 7.8% in the first quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 7.4% in the first quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 18,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.71.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded down $0.19 on Friday, reaching $55.20. 3,457,567 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,902,575. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $54.01 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The firm has a market cap of $27.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.29 and a 200-day moving average of $59.92.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.