Zacks Research Comments on Centene’s Q1 Earnings (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Centene in a report released on Thursday, January 2nd. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $2.37 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.38. The consensus estimate for Centene’s current full-year earnings is $6.83 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Centene’s Q2 2025 earnings at $2.16 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.77 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $0.97 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CNC. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.92.

Centene Stock Up 1.9 %

Centene stock opened at $62.64 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.63. Centene has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 5.2% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 27,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene by 13.2% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 668,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,347,000 after buying an additional 78,005 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Centene by 1.1% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 155,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,280,000 after buying an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 94.2% in the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 11,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 5,489 shares during the period. 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.