What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for Centene Q1 Earnings?

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Centene in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, January 2nd. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now expects that the company will post earnings of $2.37 per share for the quarter, down from their prior 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.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on CNC. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.92.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $61.48 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. Centene has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.02 and a 200 day moving average of $67.62.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Management Co. lifted its position in Centene by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 64,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,291,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Centene by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Centene by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% 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.