Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Invests $1.56 Million in Centene Corporation $CNC

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 24,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,565,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,660,422,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 117.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,798,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,308,518,000 after purchasing an additional 17,143,904 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $332,044,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 184.0% in the third quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. now owns 9,046,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,761,000 after buying an additional 5,860,630 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Centene during the second quarter worth about $257,279,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock opened at $65.29 on Wednesday. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.24 and a twelve month high of $69.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $32.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average is $64.96 and its 200-day moving average is $52.01.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.16) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CNC. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Centene from $46.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.05.

Centene Profile

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.