Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Grows Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 32.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,460 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,077 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Centene by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Centene by 73.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co grew its position in shares of Centene by 172.7% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 758 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centene Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $59.26 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.43. The company has a market cap of $29.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Centene 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.