By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC – Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 16,310,000 shares, a growth of 7.6% from the November 15th total of 15,160,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.
Insider Transactions at Centene
In related news, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Park Place Capital Corp raised its holdings in Centene by 1,190.0% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 174.3% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Centene by 75.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Centene Stock Down 2.3 %
Shares of CNC traded down $1.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.81. 7,232,047 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,120,378. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $29.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.78 and its 200-day moving average is $68.51. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.92.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on CNC
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.
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