North Dakota State Investment Board Purchases Shares of 16,829 Centene Corporation $CNC

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 16,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $693,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 455.6% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 period. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $57.72 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.51. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $60.76. The firm has a market cap of $28.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.39, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results 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. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The company had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.90 EPS. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, April 20th. Mizuho set a $58.00 target price on Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on Centene in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Centene in a research 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 issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.59.

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.