Westpac Banking Corp Grows Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Westpac Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 35.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 68,859 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,095 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the first quarter valued at $236,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 80.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 4,315 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 20.3% in the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 6.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 44,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Centene by 0.4% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 231,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,590,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 3.4%

CNC opened at $59.90 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $29.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.56, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.09. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $62.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.66.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $58.00 target price on Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays upped their target price on Centene from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $47.00 target price (up from $38.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.94.

Centene Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.