Centene (CNC) Set to Announce Earnings on Friday

Centene (NYSE:CNC) will be announcing its earnings results before the market opens on Friday, April 26th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.20 per share for the quarter. Centene has set its FY 2024 guidance at 6.700- EPS and its FY24 guidance at $6.70 EPS.Investors interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.02. Centene had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The firm had revenue of $39.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Centene to post $7 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $73.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.53. Centene has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,668,850.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Centene news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total transaction of $774,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Centene by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 667,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,536,000 after acquiring an additional 13,647 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Centene by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 25,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Centene by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 216,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,074,000 after acquiring an additional 10,057 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Centene by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,579,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,845,000 after acquiring an additional 690,659 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.