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 fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,113,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,500 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Centene were worth $45,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 52,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Centene by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Centene by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Centene by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. grew its stake in Centene by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CNC. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $47.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, May 4th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.24.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $63.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $31.28 billion, a PE ratio of -4.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $52.00 and its 200-day moving average is $44.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $66.55.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The company had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. Centene’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict 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.