Kera Capital Partners Inc. Increases Stock Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 90.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,831 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,243 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Centene by 118.4% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in Centene by 152.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:CNC opened at $61.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.52 and a 200-day moving average of $44.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.15 billion, a PE ratio of -4.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.09. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $66.55.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion during 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. Analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CNC. Bank of America increased their target price on Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Centene from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.24.

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.