Lyrical Asset Management LP Boosts Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,213,271 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,818 shares during the period. Centene makes up about 2.0% of Lyrical Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Lyrical Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.44% of Centene worth $134,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 24.4% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 4,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Centene by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Centene by 123,902.5% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 248,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,670,000 after purchasing an additional 247,805 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Centene by 1.7% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 310,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,349,000 after purchasing an additional 5,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 1.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 180,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,586,000 after purchasing an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

CNC 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 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 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.26. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus downgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Centene Company Profile

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.