Perpetual Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Centene Corporation $CNC

Perpetual Ltd increased its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 36.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 67,228 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,095 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 455.6% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth $27,000. WPG Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 44.5% in the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 11,011.1% during the third 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. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in Centene by 152.5% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $35.09 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.76. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $66.03. The firm has a market cap of $17.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.58, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.03. Centene had a positive return on equity of 4.25% and a negative net margin of 3.43%.The company had revenue of $49.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Centene from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho set a $41.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.81.

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.