D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Increases Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 14.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 328,549 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,671 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $21,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Centene by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Centene by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 5.0% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 4.5% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:CNC opened at $74.58 on Monday. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $63.45 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.23 and a 200-day moving average of $73.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $39.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Centene Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on CNC. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.58.

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.