Research Analysts Set Expectations for Centene Q1 Earnings

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Centene in a research report issued on Monday, February 24th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $2.22 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.37. The consensus estimate for Centene’s current full-year earnings is $6.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Centene’s Q2 2025 earnings at $2.23 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.04 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.96 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $7.29 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $8.13 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $66.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $61.40 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.49. Centene has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Centene by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Centene

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

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.