Zacks Research Issues Positive Forecast for Centene Earnings

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research increased their FY2025 earnings estimates for Centene in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, November 17th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $2.00 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $1.74. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Centene’s current full-year earnings is $6.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Centene’s Q4 2025 earnings at ($1.24) EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.88 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.50 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.36) EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.19 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.08 EPS and Q3 2027 earnings at $0.76 EPS.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $49.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. Centene’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on CNC. Barclays set a $44.00 price objective on Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Centene from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $38.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.47.

Centene Stock Down 2.6%

Centene stock opened at $35.95 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $35.35 and its 200 day moving average is $39.41. Centene has a 12-month low of $25.08 and a 12-month high of $66.81. The company has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a PE ratio of -3.32, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 3.7% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 99,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,040,000 after acquiring an additional 3,574 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the first quarter valued at about $316,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 11.5% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Centene during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,632,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in shares of Centene by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 273,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,634,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Centene

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.