Centene Corp is a managed care provider for Medicaid, Medicare, and Schip, services. It is the 4th largest provider in the USA and it closed on Friday at $21.00, down from $24.00 earlier in the week and down from an all time high of $28.00.

With 1st quarter earnings of 26 cents per share, excluding firstguard activity, it may not be a bad deal right now. Have a look at the Morningstar ratings below. A good deal of its success will hinge on currently pending contracts for services in Maricopa county, Arizona.

Centene’s managed-care organizations served more than 1.1 million members in six states as of March 31, up from nearly 875,000 on the same date in 2006.