OP Asset Management Ltd Acquires New Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 48,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,602,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in shares of Centene by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 15,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Centene by 103.6% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,825,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,946,302 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Centene by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,000 after purchasing an additional 6,338 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 5.5% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 6,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 32.5% during the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 56,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,839,000 after buying an additional 13,764 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CNC. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Centene from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Centene from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.78.

Centene Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:CNC opened at $65.69 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $32.44 billion, a PE ratio of -5.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.05. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $66.55.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Centene Profile

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.