Updated at 5p.m. with closing price
Centene Corp. announced a two-for-one stock split Tuesday as the managed care provider posted fourth-quarter results that beat analysts’ expectations.
The Clayton-based company reported on Tuesday its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter due to a 41 percent increase in membership, with most of the growth occurring in its core business of Medicaid and other government health programs.
Net earnings were $107 million, or $1.76 per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $53 million, or 93 cents per share, during the year-earlier period.
The company said earnings from continuing operations were $1.74 per share, above the $1.69 that analysts, on average, had been expecting, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Total revenue for the quarter rose 61 percent to $4.7 billion.
For the full year of 2014, net earnings were $271 million, or $4.50 per share, compared with $165 million, or $2.94 per share, during the year-earlier period.
Total revenue for 2014 rose 52 percent to about $17 billion.
“By any measure, 2014 was a significant year in the history of Centene,” Chairman and CEO Michael Neidorff said Tuesday in a press release. “We are more diversified by product and geography — including our entry into the international market. We look forward to continued progress in 2015 and beyond.”
Centene’s board of directors declared a two-for-one stock split through a 100 percent stock dividend that will be distributed to shareholders on Feb. 19.
Centene shares closed at $111.49, up $2.45, or 2 percent.
Date: February 3, 2015