Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC Makes New $237,000 Investment in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $1,536,167,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,053,000 after acquiring an additional 2,319,952 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Centene by 1,788.1% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126,582 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Centene by 111.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,608,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902,277 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Centene by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,555,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $53.54 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.62. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $52.93 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $26.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.45.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. Centene had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The business’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.71.

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.