Westpac Banking Corp Raises Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 37.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,764 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,755 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its position in Centene by 44.5% during the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Centene by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Centene by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Centene by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 6,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Centene by 54.9% during the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.00.

Centene Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE CNC opened at $42.99 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.72 and a 200-day moving average of $37.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $66.03. The company has a market cap of $21.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.48.

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