Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Makes New $610,000 Investment in Centene Corporation $CNC

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Centene during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 44.5% during the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 11,011.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Centene during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Centene from $25.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group set a $42.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Centene from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.81.

Centene Stock Down 0.7%

Centene stock opened at $43.31 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $66.81. The company has a market cap of $21.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a positive return on equity of 7.82% and a negative net margin of 2.85%.The company had revenue of $49.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Centene

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.