Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,910,000 shares, an increase of 63.8% from the February 28th total of 6,050,000 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.96. 2,652,972 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,606,450. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $29.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. Centene has a one year low of $55.03 and a one year high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Centene will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CNC. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $621,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 122.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 91,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,514,000 after purchasing an additional 50,066 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 124,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,548,000 after purchasing an additional 2,690 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $325,000. Finally, Alpha Wealth Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $272,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Centene

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.