OLD National Bancorp IN Raises Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 35.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in Centene were worth $299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $1,272,000. Bonfire Financial acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $490,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Centene by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 45,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,732,000 after purchasing an additional 16,108 shares during the period. Diametric Capital LP acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $610,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in Centene by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 804,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,761,000 after purchasing an additional 105,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.71.

Centene Trading Down 0.5%

CNC opened at $55.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.03. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $54.01 and a 1-year high of $80.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.