FY2025 EPS Estimates for Centene Increased by Zacks Research

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) – Research analysts at Zacks Research increased their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Centene in a report issued on Monday, November 17th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $2.00 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $1.74. Zacks Research 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.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Centene from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group set a $42.00 price target on shares of Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Centene from $41.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.47.

Centene Stock Down 2.6%

CNC stock opened at $35.95 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.41. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $25.08 and a fifty-two week high of $66.81. The stock has a market cap of $17.67 billion, a PE ratio of -3.32, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Polianta Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter worth $1,253,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at about $4,033,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Centene by 83.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 42,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,566,000 after purchasing an additional 19,181 shares during the last quarter. Focused Investors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Focused Investors LLC now owns 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,850,000 after acquiring an additional 207,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,810,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,045,000 after purchasing an additional 143,573 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

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.