Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 524,420 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 115.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 979,774 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 524,420 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Centene were worth $32,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Gibbs Wealth Management increased its holdings in Centene by 106.9% in the 1st quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 29,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 15,441 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC raised its position in Centene by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 12,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095 shares during the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at about $159,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Centene by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 108,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,552,000 after purchasing an additional 4,778 shares during the period. Finally, Kopernik Global Investors LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. Kopernik Global Investors LLC now owns 2,517,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,410,000 after purchasing an additional 492,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $63.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.82, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $63.46 and a 200 day moving average of $49.69. 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 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $69.36.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CNC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 price objective on Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Centene from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.61.

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.