Scharf Investments LLC Purchases 20,046 Shares of Centene Corporation $CNC

Scharf Investments LLC grew its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,123,245 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,046 shares during the quarter. Centene makes up about 2.3% of Scharf Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $87,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 44.5% in the third quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Centene by 8.0% during the second quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Centene by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in Centene by 6.3% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 6,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $32.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.40, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $66.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $41.00 target price on Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $44.00 price target on Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.81.

Centene 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.