Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. Invests $832,000 in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. bought a new position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $832,000. Centene comprises 0.7% of Swisher Financial Concepts Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $1,536,167,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Centene by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company's stock worth $469,053,000 after buying an additional 2,319,952 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Centene by 1,788.1% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company's stock worth $136,033,000 after buying an additional 2,126,582 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Centene by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,555,456 shares of the company's stock worth $639,450,000 after buying an additional 1,884,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Centene by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,770,426 shares of the company's stock worth $228,414,000 after buying an additional 1,802,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Centene Stock Down 0.7%

CNC stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.98. 3,945,303 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,875,297. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $54.01 and a 12 month high of $80.59. The company has a market capitalization of $27.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Argus downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.31.

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.