Ocean Park Asset Management LLC Makes New $339,000 Investment in Centene Corporation $CNC

Ocean Park Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 118.4% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Bayban bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Centene from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $61.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $53.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Centene from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.24.

Centene Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $63.67 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.32. Centene Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $66.55. The firm has a market cap of $31.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The company had revenue of $49.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Centene Company 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.