Alberta Investment Management Corp Purchases 38,500 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,113,500 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 38,500 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Centene were worth $45,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Centene during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 4,315 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 20.3% during the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 44,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,440,000 after buying an additional 2,582 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Centene by 0.4% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 231,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,590,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CNC. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Centene from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Centene from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.24.

Centene Stock Up 0.7%

Centene stock opened at $61.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $66.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.65, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.09.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The business had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current 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.