FY2026 EPS Estimates for Centene Co. Boosted by Zacks Research (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research increased their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Centene in a report issued on Wednesday, June 26th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $8.49 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $8.47. The consensus estimate for Centene’s current full-year earnings is $6.82 per share.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.11 EPS. Centene’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on CNC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, June 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eight investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.93.

Centene Stock Down 0.5 %

CNC opened at $67.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $72.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.94. The company has a market cap of $35.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.47. Centene has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Centene in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.