Czech National Bank Raises Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Czech National Bank raised its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,157 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,463 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Centene were worth $8,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Davis Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Centene by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 17,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,373,000. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Centene by 64.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 32,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,154,000 after purchasing an additional 12,674 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $72.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.45 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The stock has a market cap of $38.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.24.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The company had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.58.

About Centene

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.