Stevens Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Down 2.2 %

CNC stock traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $74.00. 6,382,726 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,098,969. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $76.42 and its 200-day moving average is $74.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $39.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.38.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays began coverage on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.38.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at $886,731.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.