Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Increases Position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• Persistent Asset Partners Ltd has increased its stake in Centene Corporation by 279.1%, making it the firm's biggest holding with a value of approximately $10.25 million.
• Analysts have recently downgraded Centene's stock rating, with Bank of America lowering its target price from $52 to $30 and multiple firms issuing "neutral" or "hold" ratings.
• Despite revenue growth of 22.4% year-over-year, Centene reported a loss of ($0.16) EPS in its latest earnings, missing analysts' estimates significantly.

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd lifted its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 279.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,883 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 124,338 shares during the quarter. Centene comprises 8.6% of Persistent Asset Partners Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd's holdings in Centene were worth $10,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Centene by 203.1% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in Centene by 273.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of America lowered Centene from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $52.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Centene from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London bought 19,230 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.50 per share, for a total transaction of $490,365.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,554,512.50. This represents a 2.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 cost of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,840. The trade was a 39.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $25.25 on Tuesday. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.88. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a PE ratio of 6.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS 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 company had revenue of $48.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. The firm's 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.

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.

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