Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $51.21 Million Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 184.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,244,375 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 806,899 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $51,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oracle Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,936,000. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC increased its stake in Centene by 451.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 181,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,490,000 after buying an additional 148,900 shares during the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC increased its stake in Centene by 161.1% in the 3rd quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 91,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,281,000 after buying an additional 56,730 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Centene by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,356,000 after buying an additional 194,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennondale Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Centene by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kennondale Capital Management LLC now owns 48,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after buying an additional 40,815 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.24.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $63.34 on Tuesday. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $66.55. The company has a market capitalization of $31.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.82, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.90 EPS. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current 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.