Zacks Research Weighs in on Centene Co.’s Q3 2025 Earnings (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Centene in a report issued on Tuesday, September 17th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $1.80 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.69. The consensus estimate for Centene’s current full-year earnings is $6.82 per share.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.58.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $75.63 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Centene has a 1 year low of $63.45 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The company has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.83 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.10 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $914,080,000. Harris Associates L P raised its holdings in Centene by 172.8% during the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,170,000 after purchasing an additional 6,881,450 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Centene by 60.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959,460 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 22.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,799,000 after purchasing an additional 832,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Centene by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,042,000 after buying an additional 636,683 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.