Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor Buys Shares of 178,402 Centene Corporation $CNC

Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 178,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,452,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Centene by 564.6% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayban purchased a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on CNC shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Centene from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price objective on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $79.00 target price on Centene in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Centene from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.15.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $64.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $31.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.98 and its 200 day moving average is $51.85. Centene Corporation has a one year low of $28.24 and a one year high of $69.36.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $1.42. The firm had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.16) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current 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.