Easterly Investment Partners LLC Has $9.98 Million Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 164,797 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,252 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $9,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 73.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its position in Centene by 172.7% during 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 during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $60.58 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.88. The company has a market capitalization of $30.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $80.59.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.