Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. Raises Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 110.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,381,879 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 725,300 shares during the period. Centene comprises 1.8% of Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Centene worth $88,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CNC. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in Centene during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth about $34,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 564.6% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Centene from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.05.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total value of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Centene Trading Down 0.7%

CNC stock opened at $64.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.53. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.24 and a fifty-two week high of $69.36. The firm has a market cap of $31.77 billion, a PE ratio of -6.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.16) earnings per share. Centene’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Centene

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.