Centene Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 20,784 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 64% compared to the average daily volume of 12,635 put options.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $56.45 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $61.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $28.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.45. Centene has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $81.42.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Centene will post 6.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,353,780. This represents a 27.78 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,153,712.75. This represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 23,693 shares of company stock worth $1,409,954. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in Centene by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 2.1% in the third 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 during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Centene by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 956 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CNC shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.31.

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.