Semanteon Capital Management LP Buys 4,288 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Semanteon Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 119.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,873 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,288 shares during the period. Semanteon Capital Management LP’s holdings in Centene were worth $593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Centene by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 624,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,046,000 after buying an additional 98,298 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Centene by 435.0% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 20,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after buying an additional 16,304 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 35.8% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 7,385 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene by 189.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 15,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its position in Centene by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 118,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,307,000 after purchasing an additional 8,103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock opened at $61.66 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $59.77 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.17.

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.