GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New $182,000 Investment in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CNC. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CNC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.25.

Insider Activity at Centene

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

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $74.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $39.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Centene Co. has a 52 week low of $60.83 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.77.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its 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. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The firm had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Centene 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.