AlphaCentric Advisors LLC Takes Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,160,000. Centene makes up about 2.2% of AlphaCentric Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in Centene by 1,401.4% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 46,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,901,000 after purchasing an additional 43,247 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Centene by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Centene by 104.7% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 43,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 22,382 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Centene in the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 37,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,149,000 after acquiring an additional 3,414 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.92% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC traded up $0.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $62.14. 1,962,224 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,524,800. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.42. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $60.83 and a 1 year high of $93.58. The company has a market cap of $33.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.57.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $37.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.56 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.83% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CNC. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Centene from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $87.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Monday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.22.

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. It operates in two segments, Managed Care and Specialty Services. The Managed Care segment offers health plan coverage to individuals through government subsidized programs, including Medicaid, the State children's health insurance program, long-term services and support, foster care, and medicare-medicaid plans, which cover dually eligible individuals, as well as aged, blind, or disabled programs.