Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Lowers Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 34.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 487,090 shares of the company’s stock after selling 258,935 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.10% of Centene worth $31,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 80.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 4,315 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 20.3% during the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Centene by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 44,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after buying an additional 2,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Centene by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 231,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,590,000 after buying an additional 967 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 target price on Centene in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.15.

Centene Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $64.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.08. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.28 and a 52 week high of $69.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 12.12%. The company had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.16) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.800- EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal 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.