Monetta Financial Services Inc. Makes New Investment in Centene Corporation $CNC

Monetta Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 29,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,894,000. Centene comprises 1.3% of Monetta Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Bayban bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $64.66 on Thursday. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.24 and a 1 year high of $69.36. The company has a market capitalization of $31.94 billion, a PE ratio of -6.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.16) EPS. Analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 price objective on Centene in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on Centene in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 47,603 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total value of $3,111,332.08. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 305,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,957,937.44. The trade was a 13.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Centene Company 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.