Aquatic Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,062,490 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 706.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,212,850 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,062,490 shares during the quarter. Centene makes up 0.8% of Aquatic Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Aquatic Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $43,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 8 Knots Management LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $186,662,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Centene by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 839,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,962,000 after acquiring an additional 102,633 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,290,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,881,041 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Centene by 212.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 244,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,738,000 after purchasing an additional 166,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Centene by 76.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,654,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,356,152 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on CNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Centene from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $44.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.06.

Centene Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $34.47 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.53, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.48. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $66.03.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.03. Centene had a positive return on equity of 4.25% and a negative net margin of 3.43%.The firm had revenue of $49.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.