Leonteq Securities AG Increases Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Leonteq Securities AG raised its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 32.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 32,246 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,895 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Centene by 118.4% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Bayban purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Down 0.1%

CNC opened at $67.80 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.95. The company has a market capitalization of $33.48 billion, a PE ratio of -5.16, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.07. Centene Corporation has a 1-year low of $25.08 and a 1-year high of $69.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a positive return on equity of 5.57%. The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price target (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.78.

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.