Zacks Research Brokers Boost Earnings Estimates for Centene

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research raised their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for Centene in a report released on Monday, February 24th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $1.78 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.77. The consensus estimate for Centene’s current full-year earnings is $6.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Centene’s FY2025 earnings at $7.27 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.32 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.25 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $1.76 EPS.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Centene’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis.

CNC has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock opened at $58.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.26. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $80.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harris Associates L P lifted its position in Centene by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,932,000 after buying an additional 1,420,825 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter worth about $1,536,167,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Centene by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,766,683,000 after buying an additional 111,654 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Centene by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,555,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,450,000 after buying an additional 1,884,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Centene by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,053,000 after buying an additional 2,319,952 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,353,780. This trade represents a 27.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 23,693 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,954 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.