Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Boosts Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 42.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,400,276 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 416,003 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned 0.26% of Centene worth $92,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 7,602 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,077,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,421,000 after acquiring an additional 118,634 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in Centene by 9.3% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 26,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Centene during the second quarter worth about $325,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Centene by 696.8% in the 2nd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 35,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,353,000 after buying an additional 31,037 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Down 0.9 %

CNC stock opened at $75.63 on Friday. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.45 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $74.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. Centene’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Baird R W raised Centene to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.58.

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.