Zacks Research Issues Negative Forecast for Centene Earnings

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Centene in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, November 14th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $2.62 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.69. The consensus estimate for Centene’s current full-year earnings is $6.83 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Centene’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.82 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.96 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.24 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.91 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $2.04 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $57.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $29.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.99. Centene has a 52 week low of $57.25 and a 52 week high of $81.42.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Centene by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 683,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,478,000 after buying an additional 99,904 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Centene by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after buying an additional 7,385 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Centene by 189.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 15,819 shares during the period. Comerica Bank raised its stake in Centene by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 118,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,307,000 after buying an additional 8,103 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in Centene by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,435,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,063,000 after buying an additional 191,768 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.