Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Bought by Smith Moore & CO.

Smith Moore & CO. grew its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,349 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 339 shares during the quarter. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Centene were worth $324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CNC. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Centene by 73.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $62.13 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.26. The company has a market cap of $30.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CNC. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

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.