Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Short Interest Down 58.2% in December

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,040,000 shares, a drop of 58.2% from the December 15th total of 19,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,260,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 45,010 shares of company stock valued at $2,660,276. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Centene by 6.4% in the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 6.2% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its position in Centene by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 5,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $63.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,911,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,523,629. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.41. The company has a market cap of $32.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. Centene has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CNC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.92.

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.