Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Acquires 938 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,298 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 1.0% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in Centene by 41.4% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 10.0% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 2.4% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 7,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $72.44 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.31 and a 200-day moving average of $73.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $63.45 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on CNC. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.