Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Purchased by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 35.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,859 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,095 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 455.6% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 152.5% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Centene from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Centene from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Centene from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Centene from $44.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Centene from $58.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.94.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $59.90 on Wednesday. Centene Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.08 and a 12 month high of $62.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.58 billion, a PE ratio of -4.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.09.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. The business had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.53 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 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.